Gender and Height in Relation to Blood Pressure and Heart Rate of Medical Students of University of Abuja

Aims: The study was carried out to evaluate the effect of gender and height on blood pressure and heart rate of young adults.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Ninety one (91) medical students aged 18-30 years at University of Abuja, Nigeria were recruited in May 2012 for this study.

Methodology: The selected study population was administered semi-structured self-administered questionnaire. The blood pressure, the pulse rate and the height of the participants were measured in physiology laboratory of University of Abuja medical school. All the readings were taken by one researcher to ensure uniformity.

Results: The systolic blood pressure increased significantly with diastolic blood pressure. There was positive correlation between blood pressure and heart rate in males, though not statistically significant, while in females a negative correlation was observed. Males had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure while females had higher heart rate. The blood pressure and heart rate increased with increasing height in males but both reduced with increasing height in females. BMI was positively associated with increase in blood pressure and reduction in heart rate for both sexes.

Conclusion: This study found that systolic blood pressure increased significantly with diastolic blood pressure and BMI was positively associated with height, increase in blood pressure and reduction in heart rate for both sexes.