A cross-ethnic comparison of lifetime prevalence rates of anxiety disorders

• Published in: The journal of nervous and mental disease Vol. 198; no. 8; p. 551
• Main Authors: Asnaani, Anu, Richey, J Anthony, Dimaite, Ruta, Hinton, Devon E, Hofmann, Stefan G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.08.2010
• Subjects: Adult; African Americans - statistics & numerical data; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Anxiety Disorders - ethnology; Asian Americans - statistics & numerical data; Comorbidity; Ethnic Groups - statistics & numerical data; European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Female; Health Surveys; Hispanic Americans - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Male; Minority Groups - psychology; Minority Groups - statistics & numerical data; Panic Disorder - epidemiology; Prevalence; Sampling Studies; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - ethnology; United States - epidemiology; United States - ethnology; United States
• ISSN: 1539-736X
• DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0b013e3181ea169f

To examine race-ethnic differences in the lifetime prevalence rates of common anxiety disorders, we examined data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Studies. The samples included 6870 White Americans, 4598 African Americans, 3615 Hispanic Americans, and 1628 Asian Americans. White Americans were more likely to be diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder than African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. African Americans more frequently met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than White Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. Asian Americans were also less likely to meet the diagnoses for generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD than Hispanic Americans, and were less likely to receive social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and PTSD diagnoses than White Americans. The results suggest that race and ethnicity need to be considered when assigning an anxiety disorder diagnosis. Possible reasons for the observed differences in prevalence rates between racial groups are discussed.