Native Americans or those who identified as one or more race had the highest rate of moderate to severe anxiety, with 83% of those screened reporting moderate to severe symptoms. Almost half, 46% of those who identified as Native American reported having thoughts of suicide and self-harm.
Anxiety disorders affect about 40 million American adults every year. Anxiety disorders also affect children and teens. About 8% of teens ages 13 to 18 have an anxiety disorder, with symptoms starting around age 6. Women are more than twice as likely as men to get an anxiety disorder in their lifetime.
White Americans consistently endorsed symptoms of SAD (12.6%), GAD (8.6%) and PD (5.1%) more frequently than African Americans (8.6%, 4.9%, 3.8%, respectively), Hispanic Americans (8.2%, 5.8%, 4.1%, respectively), and Asian Americans (5.3%, 2.4%, 2.1%, respectively).
Recent Findings
Further, studies showed that racial discrimination promotes posttraumatic stress and racial trauma among people of color. Systemic racism puts people of color at a higher risk for anxiety disorders than White people.
People who identify as being two or more races (24.9%) are most likely to report any mental illness within the past year than any other race/ethnic group, followed by American Indian/Alaska Natives (22.7%), white (19%), and black (16.8%).
Results. African Americans (odds ratio [OR] = 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.93, 1.44) and Hispanics (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.02, 2.04) exhibited elevated rates of major depression relative to Whites.
Other research shows Black and Hispanic people with mental illness or substance use disorder are less likely to receive treatment compared to the overall population.
An estimated 31.1% of U.S. adults experience any anxiety disorder at some time in their lives.
Why Is Anxiety So Common in America? What Changed? Unfortunately, no one seems to have an exact answer as to why anxiety is so common, but many attribute this presumed increase in anxiety disorders to factors such as social media, poor sleep habits, lowered stigma, and underreporting in the past.
Does anxiety get worse with age? Seniors may experience more anxiety-inducing situations than younger adults, and they may not have as many resources for support. Some people may notice that their anxious thoughts get stronger or more frequent with age, but anxiety is a treatable mental health disorder.
Though social anxiety disorder typically starts in childhood or adolescence, people can also develop it later in life. The causes of social anxiety are biopsychosocial, which means it can be a result of a combination of a person's biology, psychology and social environment, says Neal-Barnett.
Looking at the long-term risk of developing social anxiety, the risk is strongly influenced by genetic factors. This is probably because personality traits that predispose to the disorder, such as introversion and low emotional stability, are influenced by genetics.
3 million Australians are living with anxiety. Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia. 1 in 4 people will experience anxiety at some stage in their life.
Anxiety disorders most often start when people are teenagers. Anyone can get one, but they are more common among women and girls. They are also more common in people who were neglected/abused as children, or who are neglected/abused as adults. You don't need to have suffered trauma to have anxiety.
An anxiety disorder may lead to social isolation and clinical depression, and can impair a person's ability to work, study and do routine activities. It may also hurt relationships with friends, family and colleagues. It's common for depression and anxiety to happen at the same time.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “… mood and anxiety disorders become less common as people age. But detection rates are also lower among older adults. They're less likely to seek assistance for mental health issues.”
Anxiety statistics worldwide show that anxiety disorders are common across the globe. According to the World Health Organization, 3.6 percent — or about 264 million individuals worldwide — have an anxiety disorder. Additionally, 4.6 percent of females and 2.6 percent of males globally are affected by anxiety.
Youth reported the most anxiety in Spain, France and the U.S., and the least anxiety in Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia. Jan. 24, 2022, at 7:00 a.m. Young people around the world are more likely than older people to feel depressed and anxious, a global survey finds – yet they are also more hopeful.
Sweden. Sweden has the top positive mental health index which basically gives the mental health status of a given population. However, it wasn't always like this. Mental health policies of Sweden had only focused on two things: people suffering from severe mental health issues and the youth or the children.
Nigeria (0.1 percent) and Shenzhen, China (0.2 percent), had the lowest rates reported; both were categorized as low-income areas.
This explains why African Americans are less likely to exhibit depressive symptoms than Caucasians. Depressive symptoms are better predictors of future MDD for Caucasians rather than for African Americans, despite overall higher levels of stress in African Americans.
Age group: Young adults ages 18 to 25 in the U.S have the highest rate of experiencing mental health conditions (30.6%), followed by those ages 26 to 49 (25.3%) and adults ages 50 and over (14.5%).
Stendhal Syndrome. Stendhal Syndrome is also not listed in DSM 5 as a mental health condition. But it is considered as one of the most peculiar conditions among other mental disorders. It is characterized by the feeling of being anxious and confused after being exposed to a large amount of artwork.
Depression is about 50% more common among women than among men. Worldwide, more than 10% of pregnant women and women who have just given birth experience depression (2). More than 700 000 people die due to suicide every year.