Meta-analysis of the prevalence of anxiety disorders in mainland China from 2000 to 2015

Although anxiety disorders (ADs) have been recognized as one of the most prevalent mental disorders in mainland China, the prevalence of ADs has not been reported until now. The lack of a consolidated and comparable review on the prevalence of ADs in mainland China necessitated this meta-analysis to measure the prevalence. To identify the relevant studies on ADs for the analysis, we searched published studies in electronic databases up to July 2015. The pooled prevalence in the overall population and the prevalences by gender and location were estimated. A total of 21 studies were included in the analysis. The pooled current/lifetime prevalences of ADs, generalized AD, non-specific AD, panic disorder, social phobia, agoraphobia, specific phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder were 24.47‰/41.12‰, 5.17‰/4.66‰, 8.30‰/6.89‰, 1.08‰/3.44‰, 0.70‰/4.11‰, 0.19‰/2.15‰, 0.63‰/19.61‰, 0.49‰/1.83‰, and 0.90‰/3.17‰, respectively. Subgroup analyses indicated that compared with males, females had a consistently significantly higher prevalence of ADs. However, no difference was observed between those in urban and rural areas. The pooled prevalence of ADs was relatively lower than those of some other countries. A higher prevalence of ADs in women than in men was commonly observed, whereas the prevalences in urban and rural areas were nearly the same.