The population-based prevalence of hypertension and correlates of blood pressure among Australian children

Objective Hypertension is increasingly recognized as a disease spanning the entire life course. Continued efforts to refine the diagnosis and management of hypertension in children are highlighted by the recent American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines, which include lower threshold values than the previous reference standard (Fourth Report). We aimed to determine the population-based prevalence of children exceeding thresholds for hypertension using these two guidelines. We also sought to identify the correlates of blood pressure (BP) among Australian children.