Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted at a tertiary medical center in a region where similar studies had not been previously conducted. It aimed to analyze 15 years of data obtained from the ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) program and to address the challenges associated with diagnosing hypertension (HT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 1,859 children aged 5-18 years who were admitted between 2005 and 2020 and diagnosed with HT according to clinical measurements. All necessary demographic and clinical data were collected retrospectively. Measurements were performed using the Mobil-O-Graph device. RESULTS: A total of 1,859 cases, comprising 1,098 (59.1%) boys and 761 (40.9%) girls, were included in the study. Of these cases, 327 (17.6%) were obese, and 1,532 (82.4%) were of normal weight. According to ABPM data, 30.7% of all cases were normotensive. Additionally, the rate of HT in obese subjects (79.2%) was significantly higher than in non-obese subjects (67.2%). Logistic regression analysis of the study showed that older age, obesity, and being in the diastolic non-dipper group were associated with a higher risk of invalid measurement. CONCLUSION: This study emphasizes the high prevalence of white coat HT in children in our region, despite the difficulties related to measurement adequacy, and thus highlights the importance of using ABPM in the diagnosis and follow-up of hypertension.