Mother-off spring aggregation in home versus conventional blood pressure in the Tohoku Study of Child Development (TSCD)

Objective Few studies described the home blood pressure (HBP) in young children. Using intrafamilial correlations of blood pressure as research focus, we assessed the feasibility of HBP monitoring in this age group. Methods We enrolled 382 mothers (mean age 38.8 years) and singletons (7.0 years) in the Tohoku Study of Child Development. We measured their conventional blood pressure (CBP; single reading) at an examination centre. Participants monitored HBP in the morning. We used the OMRON HEM-7080IC for CBP and HBP measurement. In a separate group of 84 children (mean age 7.7 years), we compared blood pressure readings obtained by the OMRON monitor and the Dinamap Pro 100, a device approved by FDA for use in children. We used correlation coeffi cients as measure of intrafamilial aggregation, while accounting for the mothers' age, body mass index, heart rate and smoking and drinking habits and the children's age, height, and heart rate. Results Mother-off spring correlations were closer (P ≤ 0.003) for HBP than CBP for systolic pressure [0.28 (P < 0.0001) vs 0.06 (P = 0.26)] and diastolic pressure [0.28 (P < 0.0001) vs 0.02 (P = 0.65)]. The between-device diff erences (OMRON minus Dinamap) averaged 7.8 ± 6.0 mmHg systolic and 5.8 ± 5.5 mmHg diastolic. Conclusions HBP monitoring is an easily applicable method to assess intrafamilial blood pressure aggregation in young children and outperforms CBP. Validation protocols for HBP devices in young children need revision, because the Korotkoff method is not practicable at this age and there is no agreed alternative reference method.