Developmental Epidemiology of Pediatric Anxiety Disorders.

This review summarizes the developmental epidemiology of childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders. It discusses the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, sex differences, longitudinal course, and stability of anxiety disorders in addition to recurrence and remission. The trajectory of anxiety disorders-whether homotypic (ie, the same anxiety disorder persists over time) or heterotypic (ie, an anxiety disorder shifts to a different diagnosis over time) is discussed with regard to social, generalized, and separation anxiety disorders as well as specific phobia, and panic disorder. Finally, strategies for early recognition, prevention, and treatment of disorders are discussed.

Female migraine patients had lower COVID-19 phobia and PCL-5 scores during the lockdown period.

BACKGROUND: To examine the impact of the lockdown period of the pandemic on COVID-19 phobia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in migraine patients. METHODS: A total of 73 patients, including 39 migraine and 34 controls, completed the study during the lockdown period. The patients were evaluated using the Structured Headache Questionnaire, PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) (PCL-5) and COVID-19 Phobia Scale via the telephone-based telemedicine method. RESULTS: Migraine patients had significantly lower scores in all subgroups of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (mean = 42.33 ± 12.67) than those in the healthy control group (mean = 52.88 ± 13.18). PCL-5 scale scores in migraine patients were significantly lower (mean = 27.18 ± 14.34) compared to the healthy controls (Mean = 34.03 ± 14.36). Migraine attack frequency decreased or did not change in 67% of the patients during the lockdown period. CONCLUSION: Acute stress response to an extraordinary situation such as a pandemic may be more controlled in migraine patients, yet specific phobia and post-traumatic stress disorder have been reported more frequently in patients with migraine under normal living conditions. We interpreted that the life-long headache-associated stress may generate a tendency to resilience and resistance to extraordinary traumatic events in migraine patients.

Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a source of fear worldwide and has negative mental health effects on the general population. In 2022, the epidemic continues to be characterized by many points, widespread and frequent in China, and the situation is serious and complex. To provide an effective and scientific tool, the study validated the Chinese version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-SC). METHODS: This study selected 1138 Chinese individuals (age ranged 13 to 80). RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the C19P-SC was 0.93 (the coefficients of the four dimensions ranged from 0.75 to 0.85). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor structure of the C19P-SC. Meanwhile, there was a positive and significant correlation between coronaphobia and state anxiety (r = 0.48, p < 0.001). The metric invariance hypothesis and the scalar invariance hypothesis were valid in the different subgroups. Significant multivariate effects of gender, education level, and identity differences on coronaphobia were found. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale has good psychometric properties and is suitable for measuring COVID-19 phobia in Chinese individuals.

Psychometric properties of the Persian version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S).

BACKGROUND: During various infectious pandemics, phobia or panic has been suggested as one of the most common mental disorders. The current study reports on the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S) in Iran. METHODS: The forward-backward translation procedure was applied to translate the English version of the C19P-S into Persian. Then, content and face validity, structural validity (exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses), convergent and discriminant validity, concurrent validity, reliability, and stability were performed to evaluate the Persian version. RESULTS: In all, 660 people participated in the study. The mean age of patients was 35.55 (SD = 12.24) years. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a four-factor structure for the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that almost all fitness indices for the model were satisfactory (RMSEA = 0.06, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.96, IFI = 0.97). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the questionnaire were 0.95 and 0.96, respectively. CONCLUSION: The Persian version of C19P-S showed good psychometric properties and a good fit for the four-factor structure. It can now be used to assess panic disorder in therapeutic settings and identify candidates needing clinical intervention.

"Coronaphobia" in Paraguay: Spanish Validation of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 is a highly transmissible disease caused by a new zoonotic coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 that has led to several health, social, and economic issues worldwide. Anxiety and stress are predominant symptoms in the population during the quarantine; also, levels of fear or phobia have been reported. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study validate the Spanish version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S). Participants were recruited using an Internet-based survey. The survey was open from July 20 to July 31, 2021 and 1079 subjects were included. RESULTS: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test was adequate (KMO=0.956) and sphericity tested significantly (p<0.0001). The model of adjustment was good as shown by fit indices (S-B χ2=351.67, df=164, p>0.05; RMSEA=0.033; SRMSR=0.042; CFI=0.995, NFI=0.990). CONCLUSIONS: This confirms that the model of the Spanish version of the C19P-S may reproduce the same four-factors model from the original version of the scale and all items of these factors reported standardized loadings higher than 0.40 (p<0.001).

Underlying Medical Conditions and Severe Illness Among 540,667 Adults Hospitalized With COVID-19, March 2020-March 2021.

INTRODUCTION: Severe COVID-19 illness in adults has been linked to underlying medical conditions. This study identified frequent underlying conditions and their attributable risk of severe COVID-19 illness. METHODS: We used data from more than 800 US hospitals in the Premier Healthcare Database Special COVID-19 Release (PHD-SR) to describe hospitalized patients aged 18 years or older with COVID-19 from March 2020 through March 2021. We used multivariable generalized linear models to estimate adjusted risk of intensive care unit admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, and death associated with frequent conditions and total number of conditions. RESULTS: Among 4,899,447 hospitalized adults in PHD-SR, 540,667 (11.0%) were patients with COVID-19, of whom 94.9% had at least 1 underlying medical condition. Essential hypertension (50.4%), disorders of lipid metabolism (49.4%), and obesity (33.0%) were the most common. The strongest risk factors for death were obesity (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 1.30; 95% CI, 1.27-1.33), anxiety and fear-related disorders (aRR = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.25-1.31), and diabetes with complication (aRR = 1.26; 95% CI, 1.24-1.28), as well as the total number of conditions, with aRRs of death ranging from 1.53 (95% CI, 1.41-1.67) for patients with 1 condition to 3.82 (95% CI, 3.45-4.23) for patients with more than 10 conditions (compared with patients with no conditions). CONCLUSION: Certain underlying conditions and the number of conditions were associated with severe COVID-19 illness. Hypertension and disorders of lipid metabolism were the most frequent, whereas obesity, diabetes with complication, and anxiety disorders were the strongest risk factors for severe COVID-19 illness. Careful evaluation and management of underlying conditions among patients with COVID-19 can help stratify risk for severe illness.

Adapting and validating the coronavirus-19 phobia scale (C19P-S) in Korea.

The COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S) was developed as a screening tool for coronaphobia related to the current COVID-19 pandemic but to date has not been adapted to and validated in Asia. The current study aimed to adapt and validate the C19P-S with a sample of 321 Korean individuals. Analyses showed that the Korean C19P-S (C19P-SK) has excellent reliability (α = .95) and confirmed its structural validity, and convergent and discriminant validity. Therefore, we conclude that the C19P-SK can be used to assess COVID-19 phobia in this population.

COVID-19 Phobia in the United States: Validation of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-SE).

This study validated the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-SE) based on data collected from 227 adults in the United States. Results indicated that the C19P-SE has adequate reliability (α = .93) along with factorial, discriminant, and convergent validity. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the four-factor structure of the C19P-SE. Concurrent validity results indicate a significant positive correlation between coronaphobia and state anxiety (r = .67, p < .001), suggesting that individuals with higher levels of coronaphobia may also have higher levels of state anxiety or vice versa. Further, we found a multivariate difference in coronaphobia between men and women.