Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are positively associated with blood pressure in children and adolescents 10 to 18 years old

Abstract

To investigate the associations between hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and hematocrit (Hct), and blood pressure (BP) in children and adolescents. The study population consisted of 7950 subjects total (4229 boys and 3721 girls) aged 10–18 years who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted between 2007 and 2017. The prevalence of hypertension was 19.19% (21.51% for boys and 16.5% for girls) among the study population, and the prevalence of obesity was 9.59% (10.5% for boys and 8.6% for girls). Hb count and Hct tended to increase with the degree of obesity and BP elevation. Systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) positively correlated with Hb count and Hct in both sexes. Following multiple linear regression analysis, Hb count and Hct presented a positive association with SBP and DBP after adjusting for age, BMI SDS, alcohol consumption, smoking status, physical activity, rural residence, household income, diagnosis of T2DM, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Hb count and Hct were positively associated with SBP and DBP in children and adolescents 10–18 years old.