Trends in the disease burden of anxiety disorders in middle-aged and older adults in China

Abstract Background Anxiety disorders in middle-aged and older adults are an important public health concern in China. Based on the data in the global disease burden (GDB) research database, this study evaluated and analyzed the trend of the disease burden of middle-aged and older patients living with anxiety in China in the past 30 years. Methods The incidence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) data of anxiety disorders in China for individuals aged 45–89 years were collected from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, and the effects of age, period, and cohort on the incidence of and DALY rate for anxiety disorders were analysed using an age-period-cohort model. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global disease burden research database has not been updated since 2019. However, this did not affect the analysis of future trends in this study, which combined data in the past three decades from 1990 to 2019. Results (1) The overall age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) and age-standardised DALY rate (ASDR) for anxiety disorders in middle-aged and older adults in China decreased by 4.0 and 7.7% from 1990 to 2019, respectively, and the ASIR and ASDR were always higher in women than in men. (2)Age-period-cohort analysis showed that the net drifts for incidence and DALY rate were − 0.27% and − 0.55% per year, respectively. For both genders, the local drifts for incidence were lower than zero in those aged 45–79 years and higher than zero in those aged 80–89 years; the local drifts for the DALY rate were lower than zero in all groups. (3) From the 1990–1994 to 2015–2019, the relative risks of anxiety disorder incidence and DALY decreased by 5.6 and 7.3% in men and 4.3 and 11.7% in women, respectively. Conclusion The disease burden of anxiety disorders in middle-aged and older adults in China has been relieved over the past 30 years; however, recent ASDR, ASDR, period, and cohort effects have shown adverse trends. The incidence and DALY rate decreased with age in women, while men showed a trend of increasing first and decreasing afterwards.