WIP 168 - Correlation of Body Mass Index and Insurance status on depression/anxiety screen positivity in adolescents with elevated blood pressures

Poster Number: WIP 168
Publication Number: WIP 168.936

Background: Hypertension in adolescents is prevalent at 2-4%, although elevated blood pressure (BP) is reported higher at 14-16%. There is increasing depression and anxiety in adolescents. In adults, there is an established relationship between hypertension, depression, anxiety, BMI, and socioeconomic status (SES). These associations are not well characterized in adolescents. Understanding the interplay between depression/anxiety and BP can provide better treatments. Understanding the impact of SES (via Insurance data) on blood pressure will help guide resources.

Objective: Elucidate the association of anxiety and depression scores with insurance status and elevated BP in adolescents attending a hypertension clinic.

Design/Methods: Retrospective chart analysis was conducted on adolescent patients attending a hypertension clinic in 2018-19 and 2021-22 after IRB approval. Patients were screened with the PHQ-2/9 and GAD-7. Descriptive analyses are reported as averages/simple percentages. Pearson’s Rho correlation calculation is used to measure the strength of association. 253 patients were seen for elevated BP in 2018-19, and 304 patients in 2021-22. The PHQ-2/9 screening rate was 0.79% in 2018-19 and 34.43% in 2021-22. Preliminary results indicate that adolescents with elevated BP tend to report higher GAD-7 scores but not PHQ-2/9. Patients with a high BMI report higher scores on GAD-7 and PHQ-2/9 questionnaires. 66% of patients with positive depression screens report Medicaid as their primary insurance, and 100% had a BMI above the 85th percentile. Universal depression screening began in 2018, but uptake was poor in the first year. Data analysis from subsequent years is ongoing. We will continue to evaluate the association between depression/anxiety, hypertension, BMI, and SES within the adolescent population attending a hypertension clinic. Results will provide insight into whether evaluation for depression/anxiety is an integral part of workup for elevated BP.