Evaluation of serum macronutrients level and depression among adolescents and its association with pre-hypertension: A cross sectional study

Introduction and Aim: Serum macronutrients measurement prove to be precedent values with regard to diagnose hypertension at an earlier age. Depression in any form could be ruinous to younger generation, also could precipitate hypertension. The aim of the study is to estimate serum calcium, magnesium levels, grade depression and to establish its association with prehypertension. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 68 students aged 17-19 years over a two months period. Blood samples were drawn and serum magnesium and calcium were estimated. Depression was assessed by administering KADS – 6 questionnaires. Blood Pressure was measured by auscultatory method using mercury sphygmomanometer. All parameters were presented as mean ± SD. Chi square test was used to compare proportions for the groups. Unpaired t test was used to compare the groups. ANOVA was used to compare the groups for continuous variables. Statistical analysis was done using Epi info (version 6.04d) software package. Results: More than 44% of the study participants had elevated serum calcium levels, while about 10% of them had elevated serum magnesium levels. More than half (58.8%) of the participants were pre-hypertensive. One third of the study participants were depressed of which about 10% of them had severe depression. The prevalence of prehypertension was 2.1 times higher among participants having hypercalcemia when compared to participants who have normal serum calcium levels with 95% CI of 1.38 - 3.22 which is statistically significant (p-value < 0.001). The study could not establish a statistical difference between different groups with regards to serum magnesium levels and depression. Conclusion: Our study portrays the widely prevalent depression and pre-hypertension in younger generation and exhibits firm evidence on measuring serum macronutrient levels to diagnose pre-hypertension before time that can prevent the disease load and help ineffective management.