The multidimensional evaluation and treatment of anxiety in children and adolescents: rationale, design, methods and preliminary findings

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to describe the design, methods and sample characteristics of the Multidimensional Evaluation and Treatment of Anxiety in Children and Adolescents - the PROTAIA Project.

Method: Students between 10 and 17 years old from all six schools belonging to the catchment area of the Primary Care Unit of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre were included in the project. It comprises five phases: (1) a community screening phase; (2) a psychiatric diagnostic phase; (3) a multidimensional assessment phase evaluating environmental, neuropsychological, nutritional, and biological factors; (4) a treatment phase, and (5) a translational phase.

Results: A total of 2,457 subjects from the community were screened for anxiety disorders. From those who attended the diagnostic interview, we identified 138 individuals with at least one anxiety disorder (apart from specific phobia) and 102 individuals without any anxiety disorder. Among the anxiety cases, generalized anxiety disorder (n = 95; 68.8%), social anxiety disorder (n = 57; 41.3%) and separation anxiety disorder (n = 49; 35.5%) were the most frequent disorders.

Conclusion: The PROTAIA Project is a promising research project that can contribute to the knowledge of the relationship between anxiety disorders and anxiety-related phenotypes with several genetic and environmental risk factors.