Reference ranges for blood pressure in preschool Australians, obtained by oscillometry

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Abstract
Objective: To derive reference centiles for blood pressure in children aged 1–6 years which seek to address shortcomings in available reference ranges. Methods: Prospective cohort study of 2876 children in Perth, Western Australia, commenced in 1989 with serial blood pressure measurements through early childhood obtained by oscillometry under standardized conditions. Results: Gender‐specific reference centile charts for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, (i) across ages 1–6 years and (ii) across the range of corrected Body Mass Index values at ages 1, 3 and 6 years, were generated by fitting linear models with both fixed and random effects. Conclusions: Reference values for blood pressure for young children are of clinical use and may be of long‐term predictive value.