31 Life-Changing Anxiety Disorder Statistics You Didn’t Know
There has been a big push to increase awareness of anxiety disorders over the past few years. Reducing stigma around mental health and encouraging more open conversations about anxiety disorder statistics was an important part of that effort, and it has been effective.
More people are learning to identify the symptoms of anxiety disorders in themselves and others, and we feel more comfortable admitting that we have a problem and seeking treatment. This also means that there are more anxiety disorder statistics worldwide available than ever before.
These anxiety disorder facts have given us more insight into the number of people that are suffering from this condition. It is clear that it is a common problem for people of all ages, and more research is going into the best ways to treat it.
If we are to manage anxiety disorders effectively, it is important to have an in-depth understanding of who it is affecting and the impact it has on their lives. The anxiety facts listed below will give you more insight into the prevalence of anxiety disorders and how we might begin to deal with it.
Top Five Statistics About Anxiety Disorder
- One in 13 people globally suffer from an anxiety disorder
- Women are twice as likely to suffer from an anxiety disorder
- 31.9% of adolescents had an anxiety disorder in 2016
- Half of all people diagnosed with depression also have an anxiety disorder
- Only 36.9% of US adults with an anxiety disorder are getting treatment.
What Percentage Of The World Has Anxiety?
1. One in 13 people (7.3%) globally suffer from an anxiety disorder.
The most comprehensive study of anxiety and depression to date, carried out by researchers at the University of Queensland, found that 7.8% of people globally suffer from some form of anxiety disorder, which is certainly one of the worrying anxiety disorder facts. This makes anxiety the most common of all mental health disorders. The findings also laid rest to a common myth that anxiety only affects people in the West.
2. 40 million adults (18.1% of the population) in the US are affected by anxiety disorders each year.
The anxiety facts for the US show that it is the most prevalent mental health issue facing the country right now. The percentage of US citizens with an anxiety disorder is over twice as high as the global average.
3. In Europe, 25% of the population suffers from anxiety each year.
Overall levels of anxiety in Europe are higher than the global average and the average in the US. Neuropsychiatric disorders like anxiety account for 26% of the burden of disease in European Union countries. It is believed that 50% of chronic sick leave in the region is a result of anxiety disorder.
4. 7.8% of British citizens qualify for an anxiety diagnosis.
In 2013, there were 8.2 million diagnosed cases of anxiety in the UK, and 7.8% of people met the criteria for a diagnosis. It is believed that one in five sick days in the UK are as a result of anxiety disorders.
5. 8% of the population in the Middle East suffer from anxiety disorders.
Compared with Europe and the US, the Middle East has a lower rate of anxiety disorders, but the levels are still higher than the global average. However, it is worth noting that anxiety demographics statistics can be difficult to analyze due to differences in healthcare systems in different countries.
6. Only 6% of adults in Asia have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Asia has some of the lowest levels of anxiety disorder in the world, with only 6% of people being diagnosed. This is lower than the global average.
What Are the Six Types of Anxiety Disorders?
7. 2% of US citizens suffer from generalized anxiety disorder each year.
Generalized anxiety disorder is one of the most recognizable anxiety disorders. It is characterized by general anxiety about a number of different things in a person’s life. If the symptoms persist for more than six months, a person will be diagnosed with a general anxiety disorder. General anxiety disorder statistics show that 2% of US citizens have this form of anxiety.
The mental symptoms are often accompanied by physical symptoms like restlessness, problems sleeping, lack of focus, and fatigue. The symptoms can be worsened by things like stress at work, worries about money, or family issues. However, people who have generalized anxiety disorder will often feel anxious even if there is not a specific trigger, and this anxiety will have a noticeable impact on their life.
8. Social anxiety facts suggest that 7% of US citizens suffer from social anxiety each year.
Social anxiety is a more common form of anxiety that relates specifically to social situations. When at home in a comfortable environment, somebody with social anxiety may not feel anxious at all. But in social situations, they often fear being embarrassed, humiliated, or looked down on.
This can lead to a lot of difficulties because patients are likely to avoid social situations entirely as they find them hard to manage. It can also affect performance at work where people are forced to interact with others and do not have the option of avoiding it.
Social anxiety disorder statistics in the United States show that 7% of US citizens struggle with this issue. The statistics of social anxiety disorder also show that it typically starts in adolescence.
Social media is a large part of social anxiety disorder for a lot of people. When people experience an increase in symptoms after using social media, this is specifically known as a social media anxiety disorder. The social media anxiety disorder statistics suggest that it is a big contributor to overall cases of social anxiety.
9. 7-9% of US citizens suffer from specific phobias each year.
Anxiety around specific phobias is quite common as well, but it often goes undiagnosed because there is not always a clear line between a general fear of something and a phobia-based anxiety disorder.
It is classified as an anxiety disorder if the phobia is irrational or excessive. Patients recognize that their fear is excessive, but they are still unable to overcome it. If people go to extreme lengths to avoid their fears, and they experience extreme anxiety in certain situations, it is likely that they have a phobia-based anxiety disorder.
10. 2-3% of US citizens suffer from panic disorder each year.
Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by panic attacks. During an attack, patients experience a combination of mental and physical distress. Symptoms include heart palpitations, sweating, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath, chest pain, feeling dizzy or light-headed, feeling of choking, numbness, hot flashes or chills, nausea, fear of losing control, fear of death.
It is common for people to think that they are experiencing a heart attack when they have a panic attack for the first time, so a lot of hospitalizations due to anxiety are attributed to panic disorder.
11. 2% of US citizens suffer from agoraphobia each year.
Agoraphobia is often thought to be a fear of leaving the house and going outside, but that is not quite accurate. It is defined as a fear of being in situations where escape may be difficult or embarrassing, or help may not be available in a dangerous situation.
A person with agoraphobia will often experience anxiety around using public transport, being in open or enclosed spaces, standing in a crowd, or being outside the house alone. If a person has a fear of two or more of these things, she meets the requirements for an agoraphobia diagnosis.
According to anxiety disorder statistics, patients are likely to withdraw and avoid these situations where possible, and one symptom is the fear of being outside the house alone, which is why many people believe that it is a fear of leaving the house. However, it is possible for somebody to be diagnosed with agoraphobia even if they do not have this specific fear.
12. 1-2% of US citizens suffer from separation anxiety each year.
Separation anxiety is characterized by an irrational fear of losing those closest to you. A person that has been diagnosed with this form of anxiety will often refuse to leave the house without their partner or sleep away from home. They may also have recurring nightmares about people close to them leaving. Separation anxiety disorder country statistics estimate that 1-2% of US citizens suffer from this condition each year.
The majority of issues around separation anxiety begin in childhood, but the symptoms persist into adulthood. It can have a big impact on a person’s life because it makes it very difficult to form relationships.
Other Disorders Where Anxiety Is Present
13. 1.2% of US citizens suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
The obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes repeated, unwanted thoughts, ideas, and sensations, often referred to as obsessions. These obsessions drive people to perform repeated actions, often called compulsions.
Common examples include excessive hand washing, repeatedly checking things, cleaning the same areas over and over, or switching things on and off a certain number of times. OCD statistics suggest that 1.2% of US citizens are living with this disorder.
There is a big problem around OCD because people often use the term in a casual way. It is common for people to say that they’re ‘a bit OCD’ because they are particular about cleaning, for example. This means that people often underestimate how serious the disorder can be.
14. 7-8% of US Citizens Suffer From Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Post-traumatic stress disorder often manifests itself as an anxiety disorder. We tend to associate PTSD with veterans, but it can occur in anybody who has been through a trauma. For example, an accident, a natural disaster, or physical assaults. Women are more likely than men to experience PTSD as a result of a sexual assault.
The symptoms of PTSD include reliving the trauma through flashbacks or nightmares. Patients often experience symptoms of anxiety alongside the other symptoms of PTSD.
15. 10% of women suffer from PTSD compared to 4% of men.
There is a big gender gap where PTSD is concerned. Women are more than twice as likely to suffer from PTSD after a traumatic event of some kind. This may be attributed to higher levels of sexual assault trauma in women.
16. In 2018, PTSD accounted for 7% of mental disorders in UK military personnel.
Mental disorders are common in the armed forces, and anxiety disorder national statistics for 2018 showed that PTSD made up 7% of those disorders.
Anxiety Disorder Statistics By Gender, Sex, And Sexual Orientation
17. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorder charts show that rates of anxiety amongst women are 1.5-2 times higher than men. The majority of these gender differences develop by the age of six and remain consistent in later life. One theory suggests that hormonal differences between men and women could contribute to this disparity in levels of anxiety.
It is also believed that cultural issues may have a role to play. Women tend to feel more responsible for the happiness of others, such as their children or spouse, and this can feed into anxiety disorders as well.
18. Sexual minorities are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety.
Anybody that does not identify as heterosexual qualifies as a sexual minority. This encompasses gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, along with a range of other sexual identities such as pansexual, queer, and asexual. Studies show that sexual minorities are more than twice as likely to suffer from an anxiety disorder.
Rates of anxiety are especially high for people that have not disclosed their sexual identity to family and friends. It is believed that fear of discrimination is one of the biggest driving factors behind this increased risk of anxiety disorders.
19. Gender minority individuals have an increased risk of anxiety.
A gender minority is a person whose gender identity does not match their assigned sex at birth. This encompasses both people that have had gender reassignment surgery and people that have not. It also includes people that have a more fluid gender identity, such as genderqueer or non-binary.
While there are fewer trans anxiety disorder statistics, there are studies to suggest that they have an increased risk of anxiety disorders. This is particularly true where generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder are concerned.
Anxiety Disorder By Age
20. 50% of social anxiety disorders begin by the age of 11.
Social anxiety disorder is one of the most prominent forms of anxiety, and has roots in adolescence. It is believed that 50% of social anxiety cases develop in patients by the age of 11. Additionally, 80% of patients with a diagnosis will develop the disorder by the age of 20.
21. An estimated 31.9% of adolescents aged 13-18 had an anxiety disorder in 2016.
Levels of anxiety disorder in adolescents are high. Adolescence is a difficult time, and young people experience a lot of changes. They are exposed to a lot of stressful situations like exams and making decisions about their future. Social pressure is also a big problem, and it likely contributes to teen anxiety statistics in a big way.
National Institute of Mental Health statistics on teen anxiety disorder show that 31.9% of adolescents had an anxiety disorder in 2016.
22. Female adolescents experience anxiety at higher rates than male adolescents.
The gender divide in anxiety disorders for teens follows the same pattern as it does in adults – 38% of female adolescents experienced anxiety disorders in 2016, compared to 26.1% of male teens.
23. An estimated 19.1% of adults had an anxiety disorder in 2016.
When compared with adolescents, the rate of anxiety in adults is a lot lower. This may be a result of the hormonal differences in adolescents as well as the different life pressures they face. Younger people are also more aware of mental health issues than older people, so they are more likely to be diagnosed.
A set of anxiety disorder statistics for 2017 show that an estimated 19.1% of adults had an anxiety disorder of some kind.
24. Anxiety disorders affect 3.8% of the older population.
Although we often tend to associate anxiety disorder with adolescents and younger adults, it is still a problem for seniors as well. However, the older generation has lower levels of diagnosed anxiety.
Older people often have a different attitude toward mental health. That may mean that a lot of anxiety disorders in senior citizens go undiagnosed.
Senior citizens also have to deal with a lot of other mental conditions like Alzheimer’s or dementia. In some cases, anxiety can go unnoticed when combined with another condition.
Anxiety And Depression
25. half of all people diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Although they are two separate conditions, anxiety and depression are linked. It is very common for people to suffer from both conditions simultaneously, and they can exacerbate one another. For example, a lack of social interaction can be a driving force behind depression, and that is also a common symptom in people that have social anxiety disorders.
Depression and anxiety statistics show that half of all people with depression also suffer from an anxiety disorder of some kind.
Has Anxiety Increased Over the Years?
26. The prevalence of anxiety disorder lifetime diagnosis increased from 11.3% to 12.3% between 2006-2008.
The CDC statistics on generalized anxiety disorder show that the chance of being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in your lifetime increased by 1% between 2006 and 2008.
27. Anxiety disorders in children and teens rose 20% between 2007-2012.
Rising anxiety rates in young people is one of the biggest mental health challenges we face. This is thought to be down to pressure in education, among other things. In 1985, 18% of college students said they felt overwhelmed. That number had increased to 41% by 2016.
These social anxiety disorder statistics on college students demonstrate that increased pressure on young people contributes to the risk of anxiety disorder.
Treatment For Anxiety Disorders
28. Only 36.9% of US adults with anxiety receive treatment.
Although mental health awareness has increased, only a small percentage of people in the US receive treatment. This may be down to a lack of access to services or financial barriers.
29. Only 43.2% of US citizens with generalized anxiety disorder are receiving treatment.
Less than half of people that have been diagnosed with this specific form of anxiety disorder are receiving treatment, whether that is through medication or talking therapies.
30. 36% of people with social anxiety disorder do not seek treatment for 10 years.
Social anxiety disorder is one of the most common forms of anxiety. However, it is common for people with this disorder to ignore symptoms and neglect treatment. Around 36% of people reported waiting for over 10 years before they sought treatment for their social anxiety.
This is a big problem because the social anxiety disorder statistics among adolescents suggest that it is a very common issue in young people.
31. 80% of children with anxiety disorders are not getting treatment.
There is a big difficulty with anxiety treatment in children because the condition often goes unnoticed. Childhood is a tumultuous time and it is normal for children to have ups and downs. However, the adults around them often cannot tell the difference between normal childhood worries and a diagnosable anxiety disorder. This means that a large percentage of children are not getting the treatment they need.
The statistics of people with anxiety disorder can be incredibly useful when trying to understand more about this condition and learn how to treat it in the future. Anxiety disorder statistics also give us more information about the scale of the problem.
Hopefully, these general anxiety disorder statistics and severe anxiety disorder statistics that we discussed above will shed some light on this growing worldwide issue.