Blood Pressure-to-height Ratios Can Identify Hypertension in Bantu Young Adults from Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo

Background: The diagnosis of hypertension in children and adolescents is not always easy. The blood pressure-to-height ratios (BPHR) have been proposed as a screening tool for diagnosing hypertension. Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of BPHR for detecting hypertension in young adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 12621 healthy young adults aged of 18-25 years in Kinshasa, from July 2018 to February 2019. 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. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis had allowed determining the cut-off points of SBPHR and DBPHR to detect hypertension. Results: The prevalence of hypertension, prehypertension, obesity and overweight were 10.5%, 9.2%, 3.0% and 22.4% respectively. The median values of SBPHR were 0.75 (0.69-0.79) mmHg/cm and 0.77 (0.67-0.80) mmHg/cm respectively in men and in women. The median values of DBPHR were 0.48 (0.44-0.53) mmHg/cm and 0.51 (0.49-0.56) mmHg/cm respectively in men and in women. Optimal cutoff points of SBPHR to identify hypertensionwere0.81mmHg/cm and 0.89 mmHg/cm respectively in men and in women. The threshold of DBPHR to detect hypertension was 0.54 mmHg/cm in both men and women. SBPHR and DBPHR had high sensitivity and specificity for identifying hypertension. Conclusion: SBPHR and DBPHR can be used to detect hypertension in Bantu young adults in Kinshasa.