Prevalence and risk factors of anxiety status among students aged 13-26 years

Abstract

Previous study revealed that 8%-12% adolescents suffered from various types of anxiety disorders, and which had interfered with adolescent daily life function and affected adolescent social function. The aim of this study was to evaluate anxiety status and its related factors among students aged 13-26 years from Wuhu, China. This was a cross-sectional observational study. A sample of school students who come from a university, four high schools and four middle schools in Wuhu city were recruited, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) was used to measure the anxiety status among students aged 13-26 years, and some demographic characteristics of students also was determined. A total of 5249 students were included in our study. The overall rate of anxiety status among students was 14.1%. A significant difference was observed between anxiety status and sex, mothers education level, dietary and siesta habit (P < 0.05), only-child family, gentle temper, regular breakfast habit, friend support was associated with lower scores on anxiety status. The findings indicated that anxiety status is common among school students. Preventive and treatment strategies are highly recommended.

Keywords: China; anxiety status; influencing factors; self-rating anxiety scale; students.