Prevalence and Sociodemographic Correlates of Anxiety Disorder in Pregnancy Among Adolescents Attending a Teaching Hospital in Northern Nigeria.

Abstract

Background: Adolescent pregnancy is a common occurrence world-wide despite some societal reservations against it. In predominantly Muslim society of Northern Nigeria, early marriage and the resultant teenage motherhood abound. There is paucity of study on anxiety disorders among adolescents in pregnancy. This study aims to determine the prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of anxiety disorders among adolescents in late pregnancy attending a tertiary hospital in northern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study in which one hundred and fifty adolescents aged 14 – 19 years in their third trimester of pregnancy selected via systematic random technique participated. All the participants completed socio-demographic, clinical, social support and GHQ-12 questionnaires by self-report. Those that screen positive for emotional distress at cut-off point of 3 and few of those that screened negative were interviewed with anxiety module of Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders (SCID). Results showed the prevalence of anxiety disorders among the adolescents was 11.3%. Primigravida (OR = 1.32. 95% CI 0.21 – 8.20), Previous history of Still birth (OR = 6.06, 95% CI 1.33 – 27.53 and Poor social support (OR = 3.15, 95% CI 0.12 – 81.50) were associated with anxiety among the participants. Conclusion: Anxiety disorders are prevalence in late pregnancy among adolescents as found in this study. Routine screening for anxiety disorders during the antenatal care using GHQ-12 will help in early detection and management, thereby limiting the potential harmful effect on the women and their newborns.