Differences in SBP, BMI, and Stress with AUDIT Score in Adolescents

Consumption of alcohol by adolescents is known to have negative effects on their psychological health (ie.g., depression and stress) and physical health.

To investigate factors influencing systolic blood pressure, body mass index, and stress according to Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores among adolescents.

This descriptive study included 535 adolescents younger than 20 years who participated in the Sixth National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted in middle and high schools in 2013. Data collected were analyzed using PASW Statistics version 23.0.

Mean age of these subjects was 15.20 ± 0.08 years. There were 268 (51.0%) male students and 286 (48.6%) middle-school students. Their systolic blood pressure, body mass index, and stress scores were 108.79 ± 0.54 mmHg, 21.22 ± 0.19 kg/m², and 2.06 ± 0.04, respectively. In low-risk group (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores ≤ 7), sex (male) and body mass index explained 22.9% of the variance in systolic blood pressure model (Wald F = 35.28, p < 0.001). Systolic blood pressure was the only significant factor influencing body mass index, with an explanatory power of 16.4% (Wald F = 13.91, p < 0.001). Depression was a significant influencing variable for the stress model, with an explanatory power of 15.1% (Wald F = 16.20, p < 0.001). Stress was the only significant factor influencing the body mass index model in the high-risk group (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores > 7), with the explanatory power of 14.3% (Wald F = 4.14, p = 0.018).

This study found that systolic blood pressure was an influencing factor of body mass index model in both groups while depression was the main factor influencing stress in low-risk group adolescents.