Anxiety Disorders among Adolescents in a Rural Area of Northern India using Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders Tool: A Community-based Study

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders are the most frequent mental disorders encountered in childhood and adolescent years. The number of epidemiological studies done in this area within India is limited. OBJECTIVES: We determined the prevalence of anxiety disorders among adolescents in a rural community of Ballabgarh block, district Faridabad, Haryana. Secondarily, we also assessed sociodemographic and other factors associated with anxiety disorders among adolescents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 729 adolescents (10–19 years). Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders tool was used for assessing prevalence and type of anxiety disorders. Sociodemographic and personal factors were included in the logistic regression multivariable model to establish associations. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) along with 95% confidence intervals (CI) are computed. RESULTS: The prevalence of anxiety disorders among adolescents was (22.7%; 95% CI: 19.7–26.0). Girls (27.6%) had higher prevalence than boys (18.3%) (P < 0.01). Social anxiety disorder (14.3%; 95% CI: 11.7–16.9) was the most common form of anxiety disorder. Female sex (AOR 1.8; 95% CI 1.2–2.6; P < 0.01), lower-middle socioeconomic status (AOR 1.96; 95% CI 1.2–3.1; P < 0.01), and presence of stressful event within the past 1-year (AOR 2.48; 95% CI: 1.12–5.06; P = 0.01) were found to be associated with the presence of anxiety disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety disorders are common among adolescents in rural settings of India. Tackling them will require appropriate health systems response. Adequate interventions should be incorporated at primary care level to address the mental health concerns of adolescents.