ArticlePloS one2023
Changes in anxiety in the general population over a six-year period.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Measurement Properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 and Somatic Symptom Scale-8: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- Health profession students' anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome in a rural versus urban setting.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Psychosocial burden of cardiac patients: a retrospective in-patient analysis.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Article
- Two-year follow-up of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases: longitudinal insights on depression, anxiety, memory and adaptation in the INSPIRE cohort.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Exploring generalized anxiety disorder symptoms: key insights from a population-based study in Iran.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Psychometric evaluation and community norms of the GAD-7, based on a representative German sample.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Article
- Changes in the prevalence of severe anxiety and depression symptoms and the associated factors in adults living in Manaus: a comparison of two cross-sectional studies conducted in 2015 and 2019.Sao Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnxiety is a frequent condition in patients and in the general population. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in anxiety over time and to test several psychometric properties of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener (GAD-7) from a longitudinal perspective.
methodsThe GAD-7 was included in an examination with two waves, six years apart. The study sample (n = 5355) was comprised of representatively selected adults from the general population with a mean age of 57.3 (SD = 12.3) years.
resultsDuring the 6-year time interval, anxiety increased significantly from 3.28 ± 3.16 (t1) to 3.66 ± 3.46 (t2). Confirmatory factor analyses proved the longitudinal measurement invariance of the GAD-7. Reliability of the GAD-7 was established both for the cross-sectional and the longitudinal perspective. The test-retest correlation was r = 0.53, and there were no substantial sex or age differences in these coefficients of temporal stability. The mean changes in anxiety were similar for males and females, and there was no linear age trend in the changes measured by the GAD-7. Changes in anxiety over the 6-year period were correlated with changes in satisfaction with life (r = -0.30), bodily complaints (r = 0.31), and the mental component of quality of life (r = -0.48).
conclusionThe GAD-7 is a suitable instrument for measuring changes in anxiety. Age and gender have only minor significance when interpreting change scores.
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