Anxiety - Risk Factors

Risk Factors for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-compulsive disorder occurs equally in men and women, and it affects about 2 - 3% of people over a lifespan. About 80% of people who develop OCD show signs of the disorder in childhood, although the disorder usually develops fully in adulthood. The only group shown to be specifically at risk for OCD is women who have just given birth.

Risk Factors for Social Phobias

Social phobia is currently estimated to be the third most common psychiatric disorder in the U.S. Studies have reported a prevalence of 7 - 12% in Western nations.

Age and Phobias. The onset of social anxiety disorder is usually in adolescence, although most people with this disorder are not diagnosed and do not receive treatment until or unless they develop an accompanying anxiety disorder.

Gender and Phobias. Unlike their response to other emotional disorders, men are more likely than women to seek treatment for this disorder, probably because social phobias can interfere strongly with many jobs in white-collar professions. Some evidence suggests, however, that the actual rates of social phobia are higher in women.

Risk Factors for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Studies estimate a lifetime risk for PTSD in the U.S. of up to 8%. People exposed to traumatic events, of course, are at highest risk, but many people can go through such events and not experience PTSD. Studies estimate that 6 - 30% or more of trauma survivors develop PTSD, with children and young people being among those at the high end of the range. Women have the twice the risk of PTSD as men.

Furthermore, PTSD can occur in people not directly involved with a traumatic event. For example, 17% of the US population outside New York City reported some symptoms of post-traumatic stress 2 months after the September 11 attack on the World Trade Towers. (In the city itself, where the attack occurred, an estimated 7.5% of New York's population reported PTSD within the month of the event, which declined to 0.6% at 6 months.)