Anxiety strikes hardest among North American women compared to women in any other geographic region worldwide, according to an extensive global review of anxiety disorders.

The massive study of existing scientific literature about anxiety disorders led by the University of Cambridge revealed women are almost twice as likely to be afflicted compared to men. Another distressing finding:  young males and females under 35 years of age are disproportionately affected by anxiety disorders.

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The study also discovered that persons from North America and Western Europe are more likely to suffer from anxiety than people from other cultures.

Published in the journal Brain and Behavior, the study noted that anxiety disorders are often a double burden on individuals with other health-related problems such as heart disease and cancer.

Anxiety disorders are a kind of mental disorder marked by feelings of anxiety and fear. The anxiety is a worry about future events while fear is a reaction to current events. Anxiety disorders might cause physical symptoms such as a pounding heart, sweating and diarrhea.

Anxiety disorders often manifest as excessive worry, fear and a tendency to avoid potentially stressful situations including social gatherings. They are among the most common mental health problems in the Western world.

Studies estimate the annual cost related to anxiety disorders in the U.S. at $42.3 million. In the European Union, over 60 million people are affected by anxiety disorders in a given year.

To arrive at their conclusions, researchers from the University of Cambridge's Institute of Public Health carried out a global review of systematic reviews. Out of over 1,200 reviews, researchers identified 48 reviews that matched their criteria for inclusion. The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research.

Between 1990 and 2010, the overall proportion of people affected by anxiety disorders remained largely unchanged, with around four out of every 100 experiencing anxiety. The highest proportion of persons with anxiety live in North America, where almost eight out of every 100 people are affected.

Researchers also found that people with other health conditions are often likelier to experience anxiety disorders. For example, almost 11 percent of adults with cardiovascular disease and living in Western countries are affected by generalized anxiety disorder. Women exhibited higher anxiety levels than men.

People with multiple sclerosis are most affected with as many as 32 percent having an anxiety disorder. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) was found to be a problem in pregnant women and in the period immediately after birth. OCD is an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions.

"Anxiety disorders can make life extremely difficult for some people and it is important for our health services to understand how common they are and which groups of people are at greatest risk," said first author Olivia Remes from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge:

"By collecting all these data together, we see that these disorders are common across all groups, but women and young people are disproportionately affected. Also, people who have a chronic health condition are at a particular risk, adding a double burden on their lives."

Tagsanxiety, anxiety disorders, University of Cambridge, mental disorder