Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T08:37:08.647Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

References

Barrett, B., Tyrer, P., Tyrer, H., Cooper, S., Crawford, M. J. and Byford, S. (2012). An examination of the factors that influence costs in medical patients with health anxiety. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 73, 59–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bourgault-Fagnou, M. D. and Hadjistavropoulos, H. D. (2009). Understanding health anxiety among community dwelling seniors with varying degrees of frailty. Aging & Mental Health, 13, 226–237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Montorio, I., Nuevo, R., Márquez, M., Izal, M. and Losada, A. (2003). Characterization of worry according to severity of anxiety in elderly living in the community. Aging & Mental Health, 7, 334–341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Preston, S. H. (1975). The changing relation between mortality and level of economic development. Population Studies (Cambridge), 29, 231–48.Google ScholarPubMed
Rodin, J. and Timko, C. 1992. Sense of control, aging, and health. In: Ory, M. G. and Abeles, R. P. (Eds.), Aging, Health and Behavior (pp. 174–206). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Salkovskis, P. M., Rimes, K. A., Warwick, H. M. and Clark, D. M. (2002). Health Anxiety Inventory: development and validation of scales for the measurement of health anxiety and hypochondriasis. Psychological Medicine, 32, 843–853.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salkovskis, P. M. and Bass, C. 1997. Hypochondriasis. In: Clark, D. M. and Fairburn, C. G. (Eds.), The Science and Practice of Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (pp. 313–339). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Seivewright, H. et al. (2004). Prevalence and service implications of health anxiety in genitourinary medicine clinics. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 15, 519–522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skarborn, M. and Nicki, R. (1996). Worry among Canadian seniors. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 43, 169–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snyder, A. G. and Stanley, M. A. 2001. Hypochondriasis and health anxiety in the elderly. In:Asmundson, G.J.G., Taylor, S. and Cox, B. J. (Eds.), Health Anxiety: Clinical and Research Perspectives on Hypochondriasis and Related Disorders (pp. 246–274). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Sunderland, M., Newby, J. M. and Andrews, G. (2013). Health anxiety in Australia: prevalence, comorbidity, disability and service use. British Journal of Psychiatry, 202, 56–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tyrer, P. et al. (2011). Prevalence of health anxiety problems in medical clinics. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 71, 392–394.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wisocki, P. A. (1988). Worry as a phenomenon relevant to the elderly. Behavior Therapy, 19, 369–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xie, Z. et al. (2015). Development and validation of the geriatric depression inventory in Chinese culture. International Psychogeriatrics, 27, 1505–1511.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, Y., Liu, R., Li, G., Mao, S. and Yuan, Y. (2015). The reliability and validity of a Chinese-version Short Health Anxiety Inventory: an investigation of university students. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 16, 1739–1747.Google Scholar
Zhou, W. and Ke, J. (2011). The health status and quality of life of rural residents under different income in China. Chinese Journal of Health Policy, 4, 54–59.Google Scholar