Sara Kibrom

All Publications

• Blood Pressure Control in Adolescents With CKD and Risk of Kidney Failure in Young Adulthood. Kidney medicine Glenn, D. A., Botdorf, M., Allen, A., Dickinson, K., Wieand, K., Davies, A. G., Besser, V., Dixon, B. P., Gluck, C., Hammond, J., Harshman, L., Kallash, M., Katsoufis, C., Kibrom, S., Kula, A., Mitsnefes, M., Miyashita, Y., Modi, Z., Patterson, L., Denburg, M. R., Forrest, C. B., Zee, J. 2026; 8 (7): 101388

  Abstract

  Understanding risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression during adolescence is essential to improve outcomes for these individuals as adults. The objective of the present study was to retrospectively analyze electronic health records of children with CKD to understand the effect of cumulative systolic blood pressure (SBP) load during adolescence on time to kidney replacement therapy (KRT) or death during young adulthood.Retrospective cohort study.Adolescents with CKD were enrolled from 14 academic medical centers in the Preserving Kidney Function in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease (PRESERVE) study. Individuals aged between 1 and less than 18 years with 2 or more estimated glomerular filtration rate measurements between 30 and <90 mL/min/1.73 m2 separated by ≥90 days without an intervening estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥90 mL/min/1.73 m2 were included.Cumulative SBP load was defined using area under and above the SBP curve (ie, time and magnitude) and time-only approaches using the 50th, 75th, and 90th SBP percentiles.Time to KRT (long-term dialysis initiation or kidney transplantation) or death were ascertained via linkage with the US Renal Data System.Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate the relationship between blood pressure (BP) control and the composite of KRT or death.The cohort included 2,585 individuals with a median follow-up of 7.45 years (IQR, 6.05-9.20), among whom 4.6% (n = 118) met the KRT or death outcome between ages 18 and 30 years. In an adjusted Cox model, each unit increase (percentile point × time) in cumulative SBP load >90th percentile was associated with 1.36 (95% CI, 1.17-1.58) times higher hazard of KRT or death at age 18-19 years. Control of SBP to <90th percentile for 25%, 50%, and 100% of time between ages 14 and 18 years was associated with a 47%, 72%, and 92% risk reduction of KRT or death at age 18-19 years compared with no SBP control.Misclassification of BP control related to white coat or masked hypertension. Adherence to prescribed antihypertensive medications was not assessed.Worse SBP control during adolescence was associated with a markedly increased risk of kidney failure in young adulthood. Cumulative SBP load derived from electronic health record data can inform risk of adverse long-term kidney outcomes.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.xkme.2026.101388

  View details for PubMedID 42232826

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC13224069

• Association between anxiety and elevated blood pressure in adolescent patients: a single-center cross-sectional study. Journal of hypertension Astudillo, Y., Kibrom, S., Pereira, T., Solomon, S., Krishnan, S., Samsonov, D. 2024

  Abstract

  Although anxiety is known to be associated with elevated blood pressure and hypertension in adults, this has not been studied in children. The aim of this study was to determine the association between anxiety and elevated blood pressures in adolescents.Adolescents, aged 12-18 years old, referred to the nephrology clinic were eligible to participate. Elevated blood pressure was defined as either SBP or DBP measurement above the 95th percentile for age, height, and sex. Participants were evaluated for anxiety using the validated Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders questionnaire filled independently by the child (SCARED-C) and parent (SCARED-P) evaluating the child.Two hundred adolescents participated in this study. Thirty-one (53%) of SCARED-P-positive participants were found to have elevated blood pressure compared with 27 (19%) of SCARED-P negative, P 0.03. Twenty-five (43%) of SCARED-P positive had elevated DBP compared with 31 (28%) of SCARED-P negative (P 0.003). In SCARED-P positive, mean DBP (78.4 ± 9.9) was higher compared with SCARED-P negative (74.9 ± 9.2) (P 0.03). In a subgroup of adolescents (№ 130) not treated with blood pressure medications mean DBP was higher in both SCARED-P (79.0 ± 10.1) and SCARED-C (77.1 ± 10.4) positive groups compared with SCARED-P (73.6 ± 9.3) and SCARED-C (73 ± 8.9) negative, respectively.Our study demonstrates an association between anxiety and elevated DBP in adolescent children. Screening adolescents for anxiety should be a part of the routine evaluation of adolescent children.

  View details for DOI 10.1097/HJH.0000000000003652

  View details for PubMedID 38230613

• A Visiting Rotation for Underrepresented in Medicine Pediatric Residents Is Valuable for Recruitment Into Pediatric Fellowships. Journal of graduate medical education Okorie, C. U., Kibrom, S., Rotandi, C. L., Guerin, A., Gans, H. A., Blankenburg, R. 2023; 15 (3): 397-399

  View details for DOI 10.4300/JGME-D-22-00793.1

  View details for PubMedID 37363674

• The Impact of Telehealth Adoption During COVID-19 Pandemic on Patterns of Pediatric Subspecialty Care Utilization ACADEMIC PEDIATRICS Cahan, E. M., Maturi, J., Bailey, P., Fernandes, S., Addala, A., Kibrom, S., Krissberg, J. R., Smith, S. M., Shah, S., Wang, E., Saynina, O., Wise, P. H., Chamberlain, L. J. 2022; 22 (8): 1375-1383

  View details for Web of Science ID 000889963700018

• The Impact of Telehealth Adoption During COVID-19 Pandemic on Patterns of Pediatric Subspecialty Care Utilization. Academic pediatrics Cahan, E. M., Maturi, J., Bailey, P., Fernandes, S., Addala, A., Kibrom, S., Krissberg, J. R., Smith, S. M., Shah, S., Wang, E., Saynina, O., Wise, P. H., Chamberlain, L. J. 2022

  Abstract

  OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted health systems to rapidly adopt telehealth for clinical care. We examined the impact of demography, subspecialty characteristics, and broadband availability on the utilization of telehealth in pediatric populations before and after the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS: Outpatients scheduled for subspecialty visits at sites affiliated with a single quaternary academic medical center between March - June 2019 and March - June 2020 were included. The contribution of demographic, socioeconomic, and broadband availability to visit completion and telehealth utilization were examined in multivariable regression analyses.RESULTS: Among visits scheduled in 2020 compared to 2019, in-person visits fell from 23,318 to 11,209, while telehealth visits increased from 150 to 7,675. Visits among established patients fell by 15% and new patients by 36% (p<.0001). Multivariable analysis revealed that completed visits were reduced for Hispanic patients and those with reduced broadband; high income, private non-HMO insurance, and those requesting an interpreter were more likely to complete visits. Of those with visits scheduled in 2020, established patients, those with reduced broadband, and patients older than 1 year were more likely to complete TH appointments. Cardiology, oncology, and pulmonology patients were less likely to complete scheduled TH appointments.CONCLUSIONS: Following COVID-19 onset, outpatient pediatric subspecialty visits shifted rapidly to telehealth. However, the impact of this shift on social disparities in outpatient utilization was mixed with variation among subspecialties. A growing reliance on telehealth will necessitate insights from other healthcare settings serving populations of diverse social and technological character.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.acap.2022.03.010

  View details for PubMedID 35318159