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Research Article: Anxiety symptoms and associated factors among school students after 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in Zhejiang Province, China

Date Published: 2023-12-28

Abstract:
Objectives To ascertain the prevalence and associated factors of anxiety symptoms among middle and high school students in Zhejiang after 2?years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design A school-based cross-sectional study. Setting 30 counties/districts in Zhejiang Province, China. Participants 27?019 students attending middle and high schools. Outcome measures Anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7). A total score of 10 or more is considered indicative of anxiety symptoms. Results The overall prevalence (95% CI) of anxiety symptoms was 14.2% (13.4 to 15.0), higher among girls (18.6%, 95% CI: 17.5 to 19.7) than boys (10.2%, 95% CI: 9.5 to 10.9) (p<0.001), higher among rural students (15.1%, 95% CI: 14.1 to 16.2) than urban students (12.5%, 95% CI: 11.6 to 13.4) (p<0.001). Older age (14–15 years, OR=1.25, 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.44; ?16 years, OR=1.32, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.63), being girls (OR=1.76, 95% CI: 1.58 to 1.96), living in rural areas (OR=1.14, 95%CI: 1.01 to 1.29), poor academic performance (OR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.41), alcohol drinking (OR=1.15, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.30), inadequate fruits (OR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.19 to 1.45) and vegetables intake (OR=1.32, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.57), insomnia (sometimes, OR=2.14, 95% CI: 1.93 to 2.38; often/always, OR=4.73, 95% CI: 4.03 to 5.56), loneliness (sometimes, OR=2.97, 95%CI: 2.59 to 3.41; often/always, OR=8.35, 95% CI: 7.20 to 9.69), sadness (OR=2.51, 95% CI: 2.25 to 2.79) and physical fight (OR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.48) were positively associated with anxiety symptoms, while studying at vocational high school (OR=0.61, 95% CI: 0.49 to 0.75), coming from family with middle income (OR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.64 to 0.89), being physically active 3–7?days weekly (OR=0.85, 95% CI: 0.75 to 0.95) were negatively associated with anxiety symptoms. Conclusion Anxiety symptoms prevailed among middle and high school students in China. A variety of factors, containing sociodemographic factors, lifestyle behaviours, mental health, academic performance and physical fight should be taken in consideration in addressing prevention and intervention of anxiety symptoms.

Introduction:
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health worldwide. The estimated incident anxiety disorders case number increased from 31.1?million in 1990 to 45.8?million in 2019 globally, with corresponding prevalent cases increasing from 194.9 million to 301.4 million. 1 There was 7.3?million incident anxiety disorders case in China ( https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/ ), approximately accounting for 15.9% of the global total. Incident rate of anxiety disorders reached a peak at age of 10–14 years during…

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