Perceived Disinformation, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms in the Czech Population: Age-Specific Associations

The main goal of the study was to examine the relationship between anxiety and depressive symptoms and the perception of disinformation in the Czech population. The research was performed on a sample of 2867 respondents. Analytical processing was carried out through quasi-Poisson regression analysis separately for the three age groups (aged 16-39, 40-64, and 65-90). The dependent variables were the GAD-7 (Generalised Anxiety Disorder) and PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire) total scores, measuring anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. The independent variables were represented by the subjective perception of exposure, severity of disinformation, and credibility of specific disinformation in the Czech Republic. The 11 narratives, verified by a fact-checking organisation, were examined, of which eight were disinformation claims and three were factual reports. The outcomes demonstrated that 69.3% of the population experienced no or minimal anxiety, 19.0% mild, 7.2% moderate, and 4.5% severe anxiety. In the case of depression, 43.0% of the population demonstrated minimal symptoms, 25.4% mild, 9.9% moderate, and 14.3% no symptoms. After Benjamini-Hochberg false-discovery-rate (FDR) adjustment, perceived exposure to disinformation remained positively associated with GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores across all three age groups. Among the 66 narrative-specific tests, 20 of 33 GAD-7 associations and 17 of 33 PHQ-9 associations remained statistically significant after FDR correction. The retained associations varied by narrative and age group rather than indicating a uniform age gradient. Because the data are cross-sectional, these associations do not establish causal direction.