ADad 1: rationale and study design for Anxiety Disorders among adolescents in a rural community population in India.
OBJECTIVE
The Anxiety Disorders among adolescents (ADad) study aimed to document the prevalence, clinical pattern, co-morbidities, predictive factors, relationship with depression, associated suicidal phenomenon and school phobia of Anxiety Disorders in a rural community population in India. This paper reviews the rationale and study design used as well as discusses the strengths and limitations of the survey.


METHODS
The ADad was a cross-sectional study that recruited 537 adolescents, with anganwadi workers, representative of the population aged 11-19 y. Trained raters independently administered the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), SAD PERSONS scale and Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children/Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). Appropriate bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were done.


RESULTS
Five hundred adolescents opted to participate and completed the study. About 37% of boys and 63.4% of girls responded to the measures, almost comparable with the gender distribution in the panchayat.


CONCLUSIONS
The ADad study creates a comprehensive database on validation of measure, the prevalence, clinical pattern, co-morbidities, predictive factors, relationship with depression, associated outcomes of suicidal phenomenon, school phobia, impairment associated with Anxiety Disorders and policy recommendations in a community population of adolescents in India. These data will enable policy makers to rationally plan clinical services and prevention programs for the target population.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Christian Medical College, Vellore, 632 002, Tamil Nadu, Southern India, russell@cmcvellore.ac.in.
Paul Swamidhas Sudhakar
PS
Russell
M K C
MK
Nair
D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D015340:Epidemiologic Research Design; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult; D000092864:Suicide Prevention