Mild Stunting is Associated with Higher Blood Pressure in Overweight Adolescents

Background: Studies have shown that pre/postnatal undernutrition leads to higher risk of non communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity in adulthood. Objetive: To determine whether overweight adolescents with mild stunting [height-for-age Z scores (HAZ) in the range <-1 to ≥-2] have higher blood pressure than overweight individuals with normal stature (HAZ ≥-1). Methods: Participants were classified as mildly stunted or of normal stature, and further stratified according to body mass index-for-age percentiles as overweight, normal or underweight. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DPB) blood pressures were determined according to guidelines, and abdominal fat was analyzed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: Mild stunted overweight individuals showed higher DBP values (p=0.001) than their underweight counterparts (69.75±12.03 and 54.46±11.24 mmHg, respectively), but similar to those of normal BMI. No differences were found in DBP values of normal, overweight and underweight individuals among the normal stature groups. An increase in SBP (p=0.01) among mild stunted individuals was found when those with overweight were compared to their underweight and normal BMI counterparts (114.70±15.46, 97.38±10.87 and 104.72±12.24 mmHg, respectively). Although no differences were observed in the means of SBP between mild stunting and normal stature groups, a significant intercept was found (p=0.01), revealing higher SBP among stunted individuals. There was a correlation between SBP and abdominal fa