Does sexual maturation influence blood pressure and the effect of fatness on blood pressure in boys?
Y Wang, MD, MPH, Dept. of Nutrition and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#8120, University Square, 123 W. Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, 919-966-7098, youfa@email.unc.edu and JQ Wang, MD, Dept. of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#7400, Chapel Hill, NC 27599. Sexual maturation (SM) is associated with fatness and affects blood pressure (BP) in girls, but little is known about these relationships in boys. To examine the effects of SM on BP and fatness among boys, 1319 American boys (aged 9-15) surveyed in NHANES III with completed data on systolic BP (SBP), BMI (=weight/height2) and maturation (genitalia stages (GS)) were studied. Based on GS and chronological age, each subject was classified as early maturer (who reached a certain GS earlier than the median age for that stage) or other. GS median ages were calculated using the status quo method. Our linear regression analysis suggests early maturers and boys at
