Prevalence of anxiety disorders and association to socioeconomic position. Results from the Lolland Falster Health Study

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of anxiety disorders in a general population and the association to socioeconomic position (SEP), which has not been described in a Danish context before.

Material and methods

We present data on anxiety symptoms from respondents in the rural-provincial Lolland-Falster population Health Study (LOFUS). Analyses of the questionnaire responses to the Anxiety Symptom Scale were done by descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses adjusted for sex and age.

Results

14,834 LOFUS respondents who completed the Anxiety Symptom Scale were included; According to the original algorithm 371 (2.5%) had an anxiety disorder. The adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for anxiety disorder were strongly associated to SEP. We found aOR for anxiety to be: 3.8 (confidence interval (CI 95%) 2.54 − 5.92) for respondents with no postsecondary education compared to those with 3+ years of postsecondary education; 11.9 (CI 8.89 − 16.01) for respondents temporarily out of a job compared to those working; 9.4 (CI 6.06 − 14.51) for those experiencing constant financial strain compared to those not experiencing financial strain. Relaxing the criteria for anxiety to item 10 > 1, the prevalence raised to 3.9%. The association was unchanged related to education; however, the aOR dropped to 9 and 8 respectively, for being temporally out of job, or in financial strain every month– when doing same comparisons.

Conclusions

The 14-day prevalence of anxiety disorder seems low but strongly associated to SEP especially for individuals temporarily out of a job or experiencing financial strain.

Keywords:

• Anxiety Symptom Scale
• anxiety prevalence
• financial strain
• education
• socioeconomic position

Acknowledgements

The Lolland-Falster Health Study (LOFUS), Nykøbing Falster Hospital, Denmark, is a collaboration between Region Zealand, Nykøbing Falster Hospital, and Lolland and Guldborgsund municipalities. The authors are grateful to LOFUS for making the LOFUS data available for the present study. However, LOFUS bears no responsibility for the data analysis conducted or the data interpretation presented in this paper. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Ethical approval

Region Zealand’s Ethical Committee on health Research (sJ-421) and the Danish Data protection Agency (REG-24-2015) approved the Lolland-Falster Health Study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data are subject to third party restrictions managed by The Lolland-Falster Health Study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aake Packness

Aake Packness, PhD, senior researcher at Psychiatric Research Unit, Zealand, Slagelse, guest researcher at Research Unit for General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark. His research focuses on common mental disorders, equity in health, and health service research.

Kaj Sparle Christensen

Kaj Sparle Christensen, PhD, professor at the Institute of Public Health at Aarhus University, senior researcher at the Research Unit for General Practice in Aarhus, and general practitioner in Aarhus. His research focuses on diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in primary care settings.

Erik Simonsen

Erik Simonsen, PhD, dr.h.c., Professor of Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Director of Research Unit, Mental Health services East, Psychiatry, Region Zealand, Denmark.