Correlation of blood pressure with skinfold thickness and protein levels

O. C. Stine, R. Hepner and R. Greenstreet

To plan prospective studies of obesity and hypertension, we measured skinfold thickness, weight, blood pressure, and protein fractions in 920 children who were divided according to age, sex, and race. Correlations between measurements were calculated within each of these groups. Children aged 10, 11, and 12 years had direct correlations between diastolic blood pressure and serum albumin level, but inverse correlations between diastolic blood pressure and alpha-globulin level as well as inverse correlations with alpha-globulin level. These correlations did not occur in similar children aged 8, 9, and 10. Although diastolic blood pressure correlated with skinfold thickness in all groups, there was no correlation between skinfold thickness and serum protein levels.