Neck ­ to ­ height ra ti o in Bosnian university students according to the 2017 American College of Cardiology/ American Heart Associa ti on guidelines on hypertension classi fi ca ti on

Objec ti ves: The purpose of the present study was to assess neck ­ to ­ height ra ti o (NtHR) and its possible associa ti on with other anthropometric measures of obesity and blood pressure (BP) values in Bosnian university students stra ti fi ed by new 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Associa ti on Task Force hypertension (HT) guidelines. Methods: The present study included 417 subjects with median age 20 (19 ­ 21) years that were divided into normal BP, el ­ evated BP, stage 1 HT, and stage 2 HT groups based on BP measurements using auscultatory methods. Standard anthropo ­ metric indices including neck circumference (NC) were measured. NtHR (cm/m) was calculated in each par ti cipant based on the NC and height. Di ff erences between groups were assessed by Kruskal ­ Wallis followed by Man ­ Whitney test and correla ti ons were determined by Spearman test. Results : The prevalence of elevated BP was 19.2%, stage 1 HT 21.6%, and stage 2 HT 11.0 %. NtHR was highest in the stage 2 HT group. NtHR correlated signi fi cantly with all anthropometric measures in all groups. No correla ti on between NtHR, systolic BP, and diastolic BP was found, except in the stage 1 HT group, where a signi fi cant correla ti on between NtHR and systolic BP was uncovered. Conclusions: Based on the observed correla ti ons between NtHR and standard measures of obesity, NtHR could be included in clinical prac ti ce, since it is simple and does not induce discomfort. The high prevalence of elevated BP found in the present study suggests HT preven ti on requires the implementa ti on of programs aimed at promo ti ng healthy dietary habits, physical ac ti vity, as well as e ff ec ti ve stress management and coping mechanisms.