Anxiety in Caregivers of Chinese Children Under 3 Years Old with Cleft Lip or Palate

ObjectivesThis study compared anxiety between Chinese caregivers of children with non-syndromic cleft lip (CL) or cleft palate (CP) at the time of their first surgery and control group as well as identifying factors associated with caregiver anxiety.DesignRetrospective, observational cohort study.SettingDepartment of Cleft Lip and Palate in West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University.ParticipantsCaregivers of children under 3 years old.Main Outcome MeasuresThe 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7).ResultsCaregivers were mostly married mothers aged 19-35 years in the control (<i>n</i> = 131), CL (<i>n</i> = 132), or CP (<i>n</i> = 147) groups. Mean GAD-7 scores were 4.90 ± 4.53, 3.74 ± 3.95, and 4.82 ± 4.64 for the control, CL, and CP groups, respectively. The only differences were lower anxiety for the CL group compared to controls (<i>P</i> = .028) and to the CP group (<i>P</i> = .038). Most caregivers reported no anxiety (control 50.38%, CL 65.15%, CP 53.74%) or mild anxiety (control 39.69%, CL 27.27%, CP 31.29%). More CL caregivers exhibited no anxiety compared to controls (65.15% vs. 50.38%), while more CP caregivers exhibited moderate anxiety compared to controls (12.24% vs. 3.82%). Higher GAD-7 scores were associated with having fewer children for CL caregivers, and with younger age and lower education for CP caregivers.ConclusionAt the time of first surgery, most Chinese caregivers of children with CL/CP had no to low anxiety. Additional psychosocial support may benefit the 8% to 15% of caregivers of children with a cleft who had moderate or severe anxiety.