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Prevalence and relative factors of health anxiety of elders in community healthcare centers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2022

Genglin Yang Open the ORCID record for Genglin Yang [Opens in a new window] ,
Liantian Tian ,
Yang Wang ,
Jin Li ,
Peiyuan Qiu ,
Shan Rao  and
Weihong Kuang
Genglin Yang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China Department of Clinical Psychology three, Fourth People’s Hospital of Urumqi, Urumqi Xinjiang. P. R. China
Liantian Tian
Affiliation:
West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China
Yang Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statisticsf, West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China
Jin Li
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China
Peiyuan Qiu
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statisticsf, West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China
Shan Rao
Affiliation:
Department of Geriatrics, Jinxin Psychiatric Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, P. R. China
Weihong Kuang*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Weihong Kuang, Department of Psychiatry and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 28 Dian Xin Nan Jie, Chengdu, 610041 P. R. China. Phone +86 28 85422633; Fax +86 28 85422632. Email: kwhhlj@scu.edu.cn.
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Abstract

Objective:

The study’s aims were (i) to identify the prevalence of health anxiety (HA) among the elderly in urban community healthcare centers and (ii) to determine whether HA is related to social, physical, or psychological factors.

Design:

It is a population-based observational study.

Setting:

Data were collected from urban community healthcare centers in Chengdu, China, from October 2016 to March 2017.

Participants:

A total of 893 participants aged ≥ 60 years.

Measurements:

The Short HA Inventory was used for HA assessment. Mental health status was assessed using the Geriatric Depression Inventory and Mini-Mental State Examination. Other information was collected through face-to-face interviews. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 19.0.

Results:

The point prevalence rate of HA was 9.53% (95%CI = 6.99%–12.07%). The number of chronic diseases was a positive factor associated with HA in a regression analysis. As compared with participants without chronic diseases, people with one (OR = 1.796; 95%CI = 0.546–5.909), two (OR = 2.922; 95%CI = 0.897–9.511), and three chronic diseases (OR = 6.448; 95%CI = 2.147–19.363) had higher odds of suffering from HA.

Conclusions:

The prevalence of HA was high in the elderly population. Certain physical conditions, such as having chronic diseases, were significant impact factors. More attention should be paid to the situation of HA in this population.

Keywords

prevalencehealth anxietythe elderlycommunity healthcare center
Type
Original Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 34 , Special Issue 8: Issue Theme: Geriatric Mental Health among Chinese Older Adults , August 2022 , pp. 735 - 742
Copyright
© International Psychogeriatric Association 2022

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Footnotes

†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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