Clinical anxiety in Nigeria

Two hundred patients clinically certified as suffering from anxiety state were investigated with a view to understanding the clinical manifestation of the condition in Nigeria. We found that 67 symptoms were manifested by those patients, but only 15 symptoms were presented by about 10% of the sample. These common symptoms were: frequent headaches, difficulty in falling asleep, flushing, difficulty in concentrating, rapid or irregular heart beating, weakness, hot flashes, dizziness, feeling of something crawling in the head, heaviness of the head, nervousness, poor appetite, poor sight, nightmares, and chest pain. The five major precipitating factors were physical ailments, studying and examinations, use of drugs, psychological phenomona, pregnancy and childbirth, in decreasing order of magnitude. The most vulnerable age group was between 18 and 23 years old. The first born children account for the highest number of anxiety patients, but as the number of siblings increases, the vulnerability of the last-born increases. Anxiety neurosis as seen here is predominantly a problem of single males and females with secondary school education.