Prevalence and Determinants of Somatization and Anxiety among Adult Women in an Urban Population in Kerala

BACKGROUND: Common mental disorders (CMDs) such as somatization and anxiety are prevalent in general practice. These are twice more common in women. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence and determinants of somatization and anxiety among adult women in an urban population of Kochi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1210 adult women of Kochi in 2016–2017. The Patient Health Questionnaire-15; the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire; the Hurt, Insult, Threaten, and Scream tool; and a semi-structured questionnaire were used to estimate the prevalence of somatization and anxiety. Descriptive statistics and univariate and multivariate analysis were done for factors associated with CMDs. RESULTS: Most of the respondents were married (77.7%), with a mean age of 45.24 ± 15.59. In the current study, 40.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] =38.09–43.62) had somatization and 23.9% (95% CI = 21.57–26.37) had anxiety disorders. In the final logistic regression model, hypertension, perception of illness, positive family history of mental illness, and arthritis were the four determinants common to somatization and anxiety. Menstrual problems (odds ratio [OR] =3.19; 95% CI = 1.12–5.9), cardiac illness (OR = 2.31; 95% CI = 1.08–4.9), and history of major surgeries (OR = 1.62; 95% CI = 1.14–2.41) were independent determinants of somatization. The status of being single (OR = 1.71; 95% CI = 1.25–2.32), adverse life circumstances (OR = 5.85; 95% CI = 3.98–8.6), diabetes (OR = 2.04; 95% CI = 1.25–3.34), sleep problems (OR = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.77–2.91), and history of drug use (OR = 4.89; 95% CI = 1.92–12.46) were independent determinants of anxiety. CONCLUSION: Mental health services for urban women deserve immediate attention as the prevalence of somatization and anxiety is high. Hence, it is important to screen for somatization and anxiety among women with noncommunicable diseases.