Women More Prone to Anxiety Than Men

North Americans and Western Europeans are more susceptible to anxiety-related disorders than their African, East European, South American, and Asian people, says a recent study published in the journal Brain and Behavior.

Led by the University of Cambridge's Strangeways Research Laboratory, the study revealed that nearly eight out of 100 people in North America suffer from anxiety. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in the United States, or 18 percent of the population, aged 18 years and older.

However, anxiety is not just limited to specific demography, even gender plays a significant role in causing bouts of anxiety. According to the study, women are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety-related disorders as compared to men. Moreover, anxiety disorders also begin to surface much earlier in women than in men.

Physiological reactions, such as the acute stress response triggered by the brain, are more promptly activated in women and remain in an activated state for a longer period of time than in men. In fact, the two important ovarian hormones, estrogen, and progesterone play a major role in the activation process.

Further, the role of the neurotransmitter serotonin in handling stress and anxiety has also been highlighted in some studies, indicating that the female brain cannot process serotonin as quickly as the male brain. Importantly, recent research has shown that increased sensitivity of women to low levels of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), a neurotransmitter involved in the stress response in mammals, doubles their vulnerability to anxiety-related disorders.

Identifying kinds of anxiety disorders

Though anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders in the U.S., not many people are aware of its devastating symptoms, which may delay its diagnosis and treatment. Some of the most common anxiety disorders are:

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): GAD refers to overemphasized, constantly recurring worrisome thoughts about day-to-day life activities and events, even in the absence of any strong reason, persisting for a minimum duration of six months. Its symptoms include weariness, involuntary shaking, muscle tension, headaches, or nauseous sensations.x

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): OCD is characterized by recurring, obtrusive, and undesirable thoughts or a series of thinking patterns that seem beyond one's control.

Panic disorder: Spontaneous panic attacks induce feelings of fear and self-pity that are known to strike over and over again, without any warning signs. Its physical symptoms may include angina, fluttering or pounding heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, abdominal uneasiness, derealization, and fear of dying.

Phobia: A person is known to suffer from a phobia when he or she experiences extremely crippling and unjustifiable fear of something inconsequential, which in reality poses a negligible level of threat. It may cause a person to completely isolate himself from objects or situations that might trigger such unwarranted fears.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): PTSD may include symptoms such as terrifying dreams, flashbacks, emotional paralysis, depression, feelings of anger and irritation, inability to concentrate in the aftermath of a traumatic experience such as war, sexual abuse, natural calamities, or being taken captive.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD): Refers to the fear of unfamiliar social situations where the individual may be subject to possible scrutiny or criticism by strangers. Physical symptoms of SAD include feelings of shame, embarrassment, and guilt.

Anxiety disorders are curable

Generally, treatment options for women suffering from anxiety-related disorders are the same as men, with the exception of pregnant women or those hoping to conceive in the future. Effective treatment includes a combination of medications and patient-specific psychotherapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has proved to be successful in helping individuals change their thinking patterns and react in a productive manner.

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