Blood pressure and glomerular filtration rate in obese adolescents

Background: Obesity in children has the potential to increase the risk of morbidity and even death in the future. One of the diseases that are at risk due to obesity is hypertension and also impaired kidney function. Glomerular filtration rate differences in obese and normal-weight children are somehow contradictory. This study aims to prove the difference in blood pressure and kidney function in adolescents with obese and non-obese. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among high school children in Denpasar. Subjects were classified as obese and non-obese. The Mann-Whitney test was used to assess the mean difference of blood pressure, whereas the Independent t-test was used to determine the mean difference of GFR. Multivariate analysis was performed with logistic regression and ANCOVA. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 for Windows. Results: A total of 68 subjects with obese and 52 subjects with non-obese were included in this study. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the obese group was higher than in a non-obese group, with the mean difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 29 mmHg (P<0.001) and 18 mmHg (P=0.002), respectively. Obesity increases the risk of hypertension 9.78 times (95% CI: 1.86-51.39; P=0.007), and obese adolescents have an average GFR of 11.51 lower than non-obese (95% CI: 17.32 - (-5.69); P<0.001). Conclusion: Hypertension is higher in obese adolescents than non-obese, while glomerular filtration rate is lower than non-obese adolescents.