Prevalence and risk factors of prenatal anxiety disorders: A cross-sectional study

Studies regarding the risk factors of prenatal anxiety disorders are inconclusive and sometimes contradictory. The current study aimed to define the prevalence and risk factors for anxiety disorders in women during pregnancy.

This is a cross-sectional and hospital-based survey of two public hospitals (Ayatollah Rohani and Yahyanejad) of inpatients/outpatients, obstetric wards/clinics, and four private outpatient obstetric clinics in the city of Babol. Convenience sampling was utilized to recruit 432 pregnant women. A trained clinical psychologist conducted the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5) to diagnose anxiety disorders. In addition, the Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18) was completed by the participants to assess the severity of psychological distress.

Of 432 pregnant women, 132 (30.5%) were diagnosed with anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders included 61 cases of pregnancy adjustment disorder (47.7%), 52 cases of generalized anxiety disorder (40.6%), and 15 cases of specific phobia (to delivery) (11.7%). The logistic regression results showed that the age, pregnancy, education, parity, and high-risk pregnancy variables predicted 28% of the variance of anxiety disorders. Furthermore, as the age (β = 0.94, p = 0.003) and gestational age (β = 0.9, p < 0.001) increased, the probability of anxiety disorders in pregnancy decreased. Moreover, university education (β = 1.65, p = 0.049) and high-risk pregnancy (β = 1.72, p = 0.02) were recognized as risk factors for developing anxiety disorders during pregnancy.

The high incidence of anxiety disorders in pregnant women suggests that obstetricians should pay more attention to identifying and treating anxiety disorders in all pregnant women, especially in high-risk pregnancies.