Investigating the prevalence of anxiety disorders and related demographic factors in the adult population of South Khorasan province

Master's Thesis in Clinical Psychology

Abstract:

Anxiety disorders include disorders that have a common feature of fear and severe anxiety and related behavioral disorders. In this research, the importance of diagnosing anxiety disorders in the general population has been investigated. The aim of the present study is the epidemiology of anxiety disorders in South Khorasan. From the general population over 16 years of age in South Khorasan, 1500 people were selected through cluster sampling and were subjected to clinical interviews by CIDI. The findings of this research showed that the prevalence of specific panic disorder was 9.3%; social anxiety disorder 9.3%; Agoraphobia 2.8%; panic disorder 2.9%; Diffuse anxiety disorder was 8.3%. The prevalence of anxiety disorders has a significant relationship (P < 0.001) with the variables of age, marital status, education level and non-employment. So that non-working people were 2.66 times more likely than working people, people in the age range of 30-39 years, 3.41 times more than people over 50 years old were at risk of anxiety disorder. Also, the prevalence of anxiety disorder was high in people with low education and widowed and divorced people. The results of this study remind us of the need to design comprehensive treatment programs considering predictive factors and prioritizing people at risk of developing anxiety disorders in medical and psychological treatment programs. Key words: prevalence, anxiety disorders, epidemic 1 Introduction: Anxiety is a warning sign that informs of an imminent danger and prepares a person to deal with it. Lack of anxiety makes people face considerable problems. Therefore, anxiety is a part of every human's life, it forms one of the components of his personality structure and thus provides the possibility of a longer, more productive and fruitful life. In other words, it can be said that anxiety sometimes creates creativity in a person, makes it possible to visualize situations and master them, or motivates him to seriously face an important responsibility or accept a social task.

Although a certain amount of anxiety can be constructive and useful, but this state may be chronic and persistent, in which case anxiety becomes morbid and a wide range of anxiety disorders that are disordered It causes cognitive and physical problems to unwarranted fears and widespread panic. In this research, anxiety disorders have been investigated in the DSM-5 classification.

Epidemiology of psychiatric disorders is a branch of research in behavioral sciences that examines the distribution of these disorders in society (Mohammadi et al., 2013). Although the existence of mental illnesses in different societies has been confirmed centuries ago; But it was during the 20th century that statistical methods were used to estimate the volume of these problems. In the past, the epidemiology of mental disorders was investigated by referring to patients' files and information obtained from key people; However, with the preparation and formulation of screening questionnaires and standard clinical interviews, the volume of mental illnesses in the world has been identified to a large extent today (Mohammadi et al., 2012). Although today the volume of mental disorders has been measured in different countries of the world, but due to the variety of screening and diagnostic tools and interview techniques and differences in the sampling methods and classifications used, this amount is highly variable and estimated so that it has varied from 7.3% to 39.8% (Mohammadi et al., 2013).

Anxiety disorders are the most common type of psychiatric diagnosis in the general population (Kring [1] and colleagues, 2012). The National Study of Comorbid Disorders reported that in the United States, one out of four people meets the criteria for at least one type of anxiety disorder, and the 12-month prevalence rate is 17.7%. Women (lifetime prevalence rate 30.5) may suffer from anxiety disorder more than men (lifetime prevalence rate 19.2) (McLean [2] et al., 2011). Finally, the prevalence of anxiety disorders decreases at higher socioeconomic levels. In Iran, the results of the study of the epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in 1380 showed that anxiety disorders were the most common psychiatric disorder with a prevalence of 8.31% (Mohammadi et al., 2012). In another study of the epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in Tehran province, the prevalence of anxiety disorders was 6.8%, which is the most common disorder.. In another study of the epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in Tehran province, the prevalence of anxiety disorders was 6.8%, which was the most common psychiatric disorder in the province (Mohammadi et al., 2012). In general, our knowledge of epidemiology in Iran is limited regarding mental disorders and there are few studies on specific disorders including anxiety disorders. 2-1 Statement of the problem Anxiety[3] is a part of every human life, it exists in all people to a moderate extent and to this extent, it is considered as a compromised response (Dadestan, 1387-60: 59). We may experience anxiety when we are faced with important events, or with pain and danger; to feel (Rector[4] et al., 2005). In such situations, anxiety is an appropriate response that is a healthy response to dangerous or important situations (Bushnell [5], 1998).

Anxiety becomes a cause of clinical concern when it reaches such a severe level that it disrupts the ability to function in daily life, so that the person has a maladaptive state characterized by severe physical and psychological reactions (Halgin, Whitburn, 264:1389).

In general terms, it can be said that anxiety disorders [6] cover a set of disorders in which anxiety is one of their main symptoms. The common denominator of these disorders is mental suffering and especially the state of anxiety that manifests purely with other symptoms (Dosant, 59: 1387). Pathological fear and anxiety, compared to normal symptoms, when it causes significant distress and also hinders performance, it is a recognizable condition (Keeley [7] and Storch [8], 2009).

Anxiety disorders in DSM 5 include the following disorders:

Many early studies have shown that anxiety disorders are common in the general population (Michel [14], Zetch [15] and Margraf [16], 2007; Stein [17] and Stickler [18], 2010; Simpson [19] et al., 2010). According to the National Cohesion Survey Transcript [20], which provided the epidemiologic information of mental disorders, 31.2% of the general population showed anxiety disorders during their lifetime, and 18.7% of people showed symptoms of anxiety disorder in the last 12 months (Hersen [21], Turner [22], Biddle [23], 2007). Various studies have estimated the lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders from 13.6% to 28.8%. Variations between these findings probably reflect differences in disorder definition, diagnostic tools, response rates, and sample composition (for example, age variations); Also, the fact is that the difference between subtypes of anxiety disorders is taken into account in calculating the overall prevalence. The 12-month epidemic rate varies between 5.6% and 19.3%, the lower value of which indicates that the diagnosis of pathology [24] was chronic in many cases, but not in all cases (Michel, Zetch and Margraf, 2007).

Psychiatric epidemiology uses population-based contextualization methods to understand the epidemic, course, and related mental disorders. While clinical work focuses on the patient, psychiatric epidemiology studies the incidence and distribution of mental disorders in the general population in order to assess the public health and economic burden of psychiatric conditions and provide evidence for etiology (Simpson et al., 2010).

In the last two decades, we have seen increasing progress in the epidemiology research of mental disorders, with the introduction of valid classification systems (DSM-4, ICD-10) and valid diagnostic assessment tools. The main goal of epidemiology is to provide the epidemiology of certain disorders (Michel, Zetch and Margraf, 2007).

In recent years, anxiety disorders show an increasingly high prevalence, but the psychological burden of diseases associated with these disorders is often significant (Summers [25] et al., 2006). Anxiety disorders are commonly associated with depression, suicide, alcoholism, and other substance abuse. Due to the high incidence, these disorders impose a great pressure on the society and improvement in the treatment of these disorders requires major public health goals (Leray [26] et al., 2011). Delay in the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders is very costly for the patient, doctors, and society (Arikian [27] and Gorman [28], 2001).

The range of knowledge of the cause of anxiety includes many factors, including biological, psychological and social determinants that are mediated by a number of risk and support factors.