engleski

Sense of apathy as a predictor of elevated blood pressure in Croatian school children

Background and aim: Sense of apathy is a feeling of having no enthusiasm about anything. Link between mental health and elevated blood pressure (BP) has been investigated and recognized. The aim of this study was to analyze sense of apathy as a predictor of elevated BP. Subjects and Methods: Representative sample comprised 3053 children of first and eighth grades of primary and third grade of high schools. Data were obtained from questionnaire and anthropometric measurements and analyzed by descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regressions. Results: For the purpose of this study, data of 926 first graders (49% girls) and 948 of eight graders in primary (49% girls) and 931 third graders in high school (42% girls) were analyzed. Elevated systolic and/or diastolic BP was present in 12% of first and 13% of eight graders in primary and in 15% third graders in high school. First graders who had sense of apathy more than once a week were 3.49 time more likely (P = 0.015)to have elevated systolic and 7.77 time more likely (P < 0.001) to have elevated diastolic BP. Conclusion: The results imply that screening for cardiovascular and mental health risk factors should be conducted in children as early as possible. School is one of the most appropriate settings for prevention and intervention programs conducted by school health service.

childern; apathy; blood pressure

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