Influence of puberty on relationships between body composition and blood pressure: a cross-sectional study.

Fat mass (FM) and blood pressure (BP) were positively associated throughout puberty. Fat-free mass (FFM) and BP were positively associated throughout puberty; however, puberty moderated the FFM-BP relationship, such that there was a positive relationship in early/mid and late puberty, but the relationship was attenuated for prepubertal children. These findings contribute further insight into physiological and cardiometabolic changes occurring during puberty. Changes in hormone concentrations may explain the impact puberty has on the FFM-BP relationship. Understanding predictors of BP are important as childhood BP is associated with future cardiometabolic outcomes.