Prevalence, comorbidity and predictors of anxiety disorders among children and adolescents

Yang

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

et al. 2021

Background Depressive and anxiety symptoms are widespread among adolescents today, creating a large social problem. However, few previous studies have addressed depression and anxiety among adolescents in Chinese cohorts. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese middle school adolescent students in the post-COVID-19 era. Methods A total of 22,380 middle school students from Jiangsu Province were surveyed online, and their general demographic data were collected. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to assess depressive symptoms, and the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale was used to measure anxiety symptoms. Results Of these participants (aged 12–17 years), 25.6% had depressive symptoms, 26.9% had anxiety symptoms, and 20.6% had a combination of depression and anxiety symptoms. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher in female adolescents (27.6%) than in male adolescents (23.7%; χ2 = 45.479, P = 0.000), and the proportion with anxiety symptoms was higher among female adolescents (28.6%) than among male adolescents (25.4%; χ2 = 29.390, P = 0.000). Furthermore, binary logistic regression analysis showed that gender, region, and parental relationship were significantly associated with depressive symptoms among adolescents, while age, gender, region, and parental relationship were significantly associated with anxiety symptoms. Conclusions Our findings demonstrated that the prevalence of reported depressive and anxiety symptoms in Chinese adolescents are high. Female gender, urban region, and poor parental relationship may be risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, policy makers, schools, and families need to pay more attention to the psychological health of adolescents, develop response plans and take early intervention measures to reduce the prevalence of adolescent depression and anxiety.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Prevalence of and risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms in a large sample of Chinese adolescents in the post-COVID-19 era

Yang

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

et al. 2021

“…This current study found that the prevalence of depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms were higher in female students than in male students. These results were consistent with earlier studies [31,32]. Moreover, a meta-analysis showed that the gender difference emerged at 12 years of age and peaked in adolescence; the gender difference was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.95 for major depression, and Cohen's d was 0.27 for depressive symptoms [33].…”

Section: Sociodemographic Characteristic Of Participantssupporting

confidence: 91%

Prevalence of and risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms in a large sample of Chinese adolescents in the post-COVID-19 era

ZHANG

Yang

et al. 2021

Preprint

Background Depressive and anxiety symptoms are widespread among adolescents today, creating a large social problem. However, few previous studies have addressed depression and anxiety among adolescents in Chinese cohorts. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese middle school adolescent students in the post-COVID-19 era. Methods A total of 22380 middle school students from Jiangsu Province were surveyed online, and their general demographic data were collected. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to assess depressive symptoms, and the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale was used to measure anxiety symptoms. Results Of these participants (aged 12–17 years), 25.6% had depressive symptoms, 26.9% had anxiety symptoms, and 20.6% had a combination of depression and anxiety symptoms. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher in female adolescents (27.6%) than in male adolescents (23.7%; χ2 = 45.479, P=0.000), and the proportion with anxiety symptoms was higher among female adolescents (28.6%) than among male adolescents (25.4%; χ2 = 29.390, P=0.000). Furthermore, binary logistic regression analysis showed that gender, region, and parental relationship were significantly associated with depressive symptoms among adolescents, while age, gender, region, and parental relationship were significantly associated with anxiety symptoms. Conclusions Our findings demonstrated that the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms in Chinese adolescents are high. Female gender, urban region, and poor parental relationship may be risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, policy makers, schools, and families should pay more attention to the psychological health of adolescents.

“…Some studies even reported that the prevalence of anxiety symptoms reached more than 30% among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 4 , 5 ]. Furthermore, anxiety disorders in adolescents can have long-term consequences on the quality of life and are often comorbid with other problems, such as depression, sleep disturbances, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Despite the fairly high prevalence and the psychosocial impairment that comes with anxiety disorders, the public generally has a relatively low understanding of symptoms, and anxiety disorders or symptoms often remain undetected and untreated [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, substantial evidence has indicated that female adolescents are more likely to develop anxiety disorders than males [ 5 , 8 , 27 ]. Prior research has also found that the prevalence of anxiety varies across different periods of adolescence, with more common anxiety symptoms observed in older adolescents [ 5 , 27 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric Properties of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 Item (GAD-7) in a Large Sample of Chinese Adolescents

et al. 2021

Anxiety symptoms are common among adolescents. A well-validated and easy-to-use tool is indispensable to measure and detect anxiety for timely interventions. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 item (GAD-7) is a self-report scale used to measure the severity of anxiety and has been validated in adult populations, but psychometric properties of the GAD-7 remained rarely tested in adolescents. The study aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of the GAD-7 in Chinese adolescents. Sex- and age-specific analyses were conducted in a large sample of adolescents (n = 67,281, aged 10–17 years). Our results showed that the GAD-7 scores were higher in female and older adolescents. The GAD-7 presented good internal consistency and a unidimensional structure across sex- and age-specific groups. The GAD-7 scores were significantly correlated with the scores of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item (PHQ-9, a self-reported scale to measure depression symptoms) in all subgroups, indicating acceptable criterion validity. In conclusion, the GAD-7 is a scale with good psychometrics and can serve as a tool for anxiety screening in Chinese adolescents at the populational level.