The prevalence of anxiety and depression in different regions of the Russian Federation and its association with sociodemographic factors (according to the data of the ESSE-RF study)

Aim. To study the prevalence of anxiety and depression by psychometric methods (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in different regions of the Russian Federation (RF), which are characterized by various climatic, geographic, economic, and demographic indicators. Subjects and methods. The investigation used the data of the multicenter epidemiological survey of cardiovascular diseases in different regions of the Russian Federation - the ESSE-RF study. The subjects of the study were representative samples from unorganized male and female populations aged 25-64 years from 10 RF regions. The survey included a total 16,877 people (6244 men and 10,623 women). All the examinees were interviewed using a standard questionnaire. An analysis involved their gender, age, education level, place and region of residence, and income and morbidity level. The HADS validated in Russia was used to rate the level of anxiety/depression. Results. The total prevalence of higher anxiety and depression averaged 46.3 and 25.6%, respectively. Respondents with clinical anxiety/depression constituted more than one third of those who had a higher level of these conditions. In the examined population, the moderate level of anxiety/depression was 7.5 +/- 0.06 and 5.1 +/- 0.04, respectively. The population of Volgograd, Samara, Saint Petersburg, and Tomsk had the similar values of the moderate level of anxiety/depression (p>0.05). The lowest level of anxiety/depression (p<0.0001) was seen in the dwellers of Tyumen (5.9 +/- 0.1 and 3.4 +/- 0.1, respectively) and the highest in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (NOA) (8.4 +/- 0.1 and 6.8 +/- 0.1, respectively). These regions showed the lowest and highest prevalence of higher anxiety (22% in Tyumen and 59.8% in the Republic of NOA (p<0.0001). Conclusion. All the 10 selected RF regions differing in demographic, economic, climatic, and geographical parameters are characterized by a high level of anxiety that remains statistically significant after adjusting for gender and age, so are parameters, such as income and morbidity levels are present in only 4 of the 10 regions.