ANXIETY AMONG THE YOUNG CARDIAC PATIENTS - A NEGLECTED ILLNESS

Anxiety Among The Young Cardiac Patients

Abstract

Objective: To explore the prevalence of anxiety among young cardiac patients visiting tertiary care hospital, Rawalpindi.
Study Design: Observational cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC), from 27th Jun to 30th Sep 2016.
Material and Methods: After ethical clearance and approval of the supervisor of Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, data were collected from the OPD patients of Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology over a period of one month. Patients were briefed about the nature of study and after informed written consent, information was collected through face to face interviews by trained data collectors using General anxiety Disorder (GAD) scale. SPSS-21 was used for data analysis.
Results: A total 237 patients were interviewed and male to female ratio was 1.4:1 (140:97). Age ranged from 20-40 years with mean of 32 ± 5.2 years. Overall prevalence of anxiety was 25.5%. There was not statistically significant difference observed in anxiety levels between male (23, 9%) and females (25, 11%), (p-value: 1.000). The participants were divided into 4 age groups and group 4 (36-40 years) was most affected group. However, none of the group showed statistically association with age groups. A statistically significant relationship is found with unemployment and anxiety (OR: 2.8, p-value: <.005). However there was no relationship between duration of cardiac illness and anxiety (p-value: .588).
Conclusion: Moderate level of anxiety was most prevalent among the 30-40 years age group.