Int J Psychiatry Med. 2023 Aug 14:912174231196342. doi: 10.1177/00912174231196342. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate subclinical atherosclerosis in drug-naive children with anxiety disorders using non-invasive measures and to investigate the clinical features associated with subclinical atherosclerosis.

METHOD: This study included 37 drug-naive children and adolescents with anxiety disorders and 37 healthy controls. The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T and STAI-S) were used to assess children’s depression and anxiety levels. Carotid artery intima-media (cIMT), epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), and periaortic adipose tissue (PAT) thicknesses, which are indicators of subclinical atherosclerosis, were obtained by echocardiographic measurements.

RESULTS: Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) revealed a significant main effect for cIMT, EAT thickness, and PAT thickness in both groups, independent of confounding factors such as age, sex, body mass index, mean blood pressure, and family income (Pillai’s Trace V = .76, F (1, 72) = 35.60, P < .001, ηp² = .76). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that cIMT, EAT thickness, and PAT thickness values were significantly higher in the anxiety disorder group than in the control group (P < .001). In partial correlation analysis, a positive correlation was observed between STAI-T and cIMT, and EAT thickness. In linear regression analyses, age and STAI-T were identified as correlates of cIMT and EAT thickness levels.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that subclinical cardiovascular risk is significantly increased in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.

PMID:37578806 | DOI:10.1177/00912174231196342