Yonsei Med J.  2014 Mar;55(2):360-366.

A 24-Year Follow-Up Study of Blood Pressure Tracking from Childhood to Adulthood in Korea: The Kangwha Study

• Lee MH
• Kang DR
• Kim HC
• Ahn SV
• Khaw KT
• Suh I

Abstract

PURPOSE
A number of longitudinal studies have tracked blood pressure over time in children and adults. Although there are a few blood pressure tracking studies for Asian populations, they are all relatively short-term studies with around only 10 years of follow-up. Accordingly, we assessed the stability of blood pressure tracking from childhood to adulthood over a 24-year follow-up period among participants in the Kangwha Study.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The Kangwha Study was a community-based prospective cohort study that started in 1986 in Kangwha County, South Korea. The study dataset included 14 blood pressure measurements over a 24-year period from 266 (123 male and 143 female) participants who completed the 2010 examination. All participants were 7 years old when the study began and were followed for the next 24 years.
RESULTS
The tracking coefficient (95% confidence interval) for systolic blood pressure was 0.81 (0.52-1.11) in men and 0.72 (0.51-0.92) in women; diastolic blood pressure was 0.53 (0.26-0.80) in men and 0.33 (0.15-0.52) in women. After adjusting for body mass index, the tracking coefficient for systolic blood pressure was 0.68 (0.39-0.97) in men and 0.67 (0.44-0.89) in women; diastolic blood pressure was 0.51 (0.24-0.78) in men and 0.33 (0.15-0.51) in women. All tracking coefficients were statistically significant (p<0.001).
CONCLUSION
In this 24-year longitudinal study, we confirmed the stability of blood pressure tracking from childhood to adulthood for participants in the Kangwha Study.

Keyword

Blood pressure; tracking; longitudinal study

MeSH Terms

Adult
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Blood Pressure*
Body Mass Index
Child
Cohort Studies
Dataset
Female
Follow-Up Studies*
Humans
Korea*
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Methods
Prospective Studies
Republic of Korea
Track and Field*

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