Objective:

To derive population-specific BP percentiles for children from urban Bengaluru, aged 6–16 years; to compare these to the AAP reference guidelines; and to examine the association of elevated BP with lipid profiles.

Approach:

• Study Design: Cross-sectional observational study.
• Participants: Apparently healthy school-going children (n=9051), aged 6–16 years.
• Main Outcome Measures: Sex-specific, age-specific and height-specific systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP); proportion of BP categories using AAP guidelines and study-derived percentiles.

Key Findings:

• Study-derived SBP and DBP percentiles increased steadily with age in both sexes, differing from AAP guidelines.
• Using AAP guidelines, 14.1% of children had elevated BP and 23.9% had hypertension, compared to 6.9% and 8.1% using study-derived percentiles.
• Elevated BP was significantly associated with a higher proportion of abnormal total cholesterol (8.6% vs 3.2%, p=0.027) and higher LDL levels, predominantly among girls.

Interpretation:

The study developed updated age-sex and height-specific BP percentiles for Indian children.

Limitations:

• The study was conducted in a specific urban setting, which may limit generalizability.
• Children with known chronic illnesses or conditions affecting BP were excluded.

Conclusion:

The findings highlight the clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors in Indian children.