Prevalence and Associated Factors of Generalized Anxiety Disorder Among Physicians, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common mental disorders in primary care settings and is associated with increased use of health services. Patients with GAD demonstrate a considerable degree of impairment and disability, even in its pure form, uncomplicated by depression or other mental disorders. Objectives: To explore the magnitude of the problem of anxiety disorders among physicians working in general governmental hospitals in Jeddah and its determinants. Subjects and Methods: Across sectional study was carried out in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. A representative sample of physicians working in general governmental hospitals in Jeddah were included. A Self administration questionnaire was used for data collection. It contains participants' personal characteristics, questions about factors that may determine the development of GAD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale to diagnose GAD. Results: The study included 151 physicians. Males represent 64.9% of them and 40.4% aged between 25 and 29 years. Majority of them (80.8%) were Saudis. Mild anxiety disorder was observed among 31.8% of the physicians whereas each of moderate and severity forms was reported among 16.6% of them. Moderate and severe anxieties were more reported among young physicians (30-34 years) compared to old physicians (≥40 years) (25% and 15.9% compared to zero). The difference was statistically significant, p=0.022. Saudi physicians reported higher rate of moderate and severe anxiety than non-Saudi physicians (18.9% and 12.3% versus 6.9% and 3.4%). The difference, p = 0.05. Severe GAD was reported

The immediate psychological response of the general population in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

“…The first study was carried out at the very early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic where the total COVID-19 cases were lower than 1000, while the latter study (not yet peer-reviewed) was carried out at the similar phase of the present study where the exponential growth in the number of cases was initiated. However, the prevalence was within the range of that reported by studies among the various population within Saudi Arabia (prevalence varied 15.8%–26% for depression and 16.6%–66% for anxiety) before the COVID-19 outbreak [ [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] ]. A similar or higher prevalence of psychological burden was reported during the past major infectious diseases outbreaks, such as MERS, SARS and Ebola, especially among those directly affected by the outbreaks [ [9] , [10] , [11] , 13 , 33 ].…”

The immediate psychological response of the general population in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

“…The prevalence of anxiety and depression disorders among the general public was higher than that reported by a study conducted during the same period in the Kingdom (Alyami et al, 2020). However, the prevalence was within the range of that reported by studies among the various population within Saudi Arabia (prevalence varied 15.8% to 26% for depression and 16.6% to 66% for anxiety) before the COVID-19 outbreak (Al-Qadhi et al, 2014; Alzahrani et al, 2016; Alanazy, 2019; Alharithy et al, 2019; Al Salman et al, 2020). A similar or higher prevalence of psychological burden was reported during the past major infectious diseases outbreaks, such as MERS, SARS and Ebola, especially among those directly affected by the outbreaks (Mak et al, 2010; Alnajjar et al, 2016; Jalloh et al, 2018; Cabello et al, 2020; Brooks et al, 2020).…”

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression among Family Medicine Residents in KFMC, Riyadh. KSA: A Comparison between Physicians’ Characteristics

“…Another study done on resident physicians in 2020 at King Fahad Medi-cal City (KFMC), Riyadh, showed the prevalence of depression among family medicine doctors was 18.5% [4]. Additionally, in a study that was done in Jeddah governmental hospitals, 13% were found to have anxiety [5].…”