OBJECTIVE: To identify the blood pressure of adolescents in private schools in the city of Fortaleza-CE. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional and quantitative study in which 794 adolescents were surveyed - between 12 and 17 years of age - from 14 private schools of that city, in the period from March to September 2007. It was used a questionnaire that contemplated the following characteristics: socio-demographic, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), physical activity and capillary glucose. RESULTS: It was found that 19.7% of young people had high blood pressure. The male participants had systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) higher than females (p=0.0001). The investigation found higher values of SBP and DBP in those who were overweight (p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: The blood pressure was influenced mainly by gender and BMI.
Blood pressure; Adolescent; School health
