Prevalence of anxiety and associated factors in adults

ABSTRACT Objective Identify the prevalence of anxiety disorders in a population sample and associated factors. Methods A cross-sectional study of population base conducted with individuals between 18 and 35 years old. Sociodemographic variables, body mass index (BMI), presence of diseases, and use of alcohol and smoke were analyzed. The anxiety disorders were verified by the clinical interview Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0. For the analysis, was used the Chi-square test, considering a confidence interval of 95%. Results The prevalence of general anxiety was 27.4%. Agoraphobia (17.9%) and generalized anxiety disorder (14.3%) were the most prevalent. Women presented a higher prevalence of general anxiety with 32.5% when compared with man (21,3%) (p < 0.001). The variables gender, years of study, income, health problems, smoking, and alcohol were associated to more than three anxiety disorders investigated (p < 0,001). Conclusions The findings demonstrate that anxiety disorders are frequent in adults, being more prevalent among women. It was associated mainly with socioeconomic conditions and legal substances. Knowing the prevalence of anxiety disorders and associated factors can help health professionals to develop better diagnoses and treatments.