Blood pressure-to-height ratios, aging and neck circumference in bantu population from a western port city in democratic Republic of Congo

Background: Blood pressure-to-height ratios (BPHR) were proposed as simple tool to identify hypertension among children and adolescents. Objective: To investigate the relationship between BPHR and anthropometric parameters. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 3290 participants aged 18 years or more in Boma, from March 1st to April 15th 2018. Systolic blood pressure-to-height ratio (SBPHR) was calculated as systolic blood pressure (SBP) in mmHg devised by height in centimeter. Diastolic blood pressure-to-height ratio (DBPHR) was calculated as diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in mmHg devised by height in centimeter. Spearman correlation tests, univariate and multiple linear regression analysis were used to measure the association between BPHR, age and anthropometric parameters. Results: The median value of SBPHR was 0.71(0.65–0.78) mmHg/cm in men and 0.73(0.66–0.81) mmHg/cm in women. The median value of DBPHR was 0.47(0.41–0.52) mmHg/cm and 0.49(0.44–0.55) mmHg/cm respectively in men and in women. Neck circumference (NC), waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) had the median value of 37.1 cm, 77 cm and 83 cm in men respectively, and 32.3 cm, 80 cm and 93 cm in women. BPHR were positively correlated with age, NC, WC and HC. Age followed by NC had the best influence on BPHR in both men and women. Conclusion: BPHR is associated at age and neck circumference.