Generalized anxiety disorder and associated factors among inmates in Wollega Zones, Oromia, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) remains a leading issue of mental health problems among people in prisons. With limited attention given to prison inmates, and very little known about the magnitude and factors associated with GAD, this study was therefore aimed at assessing the magnitude of GAD and its associated factors among prison inmates in selected Wollega Zones, Ethiopia, 2025. Institutional based cross-sectional survey was conducted from February to April 2025 in selected Wollega Zone prisons, Oromia regional state; Ethiopia. Stratified sampling technique was used in this study to sample 374 inmates which were subsequently gathered using structured questionnaires developed by using tools like the OSLO 3 and GAD 7 scale. Epi-data version 4.6 was used for data entry, and SPSS version 26 for analysis. The data was analyzed by using both binary and Multivariable logistic regression. Adjusted Odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was used to determine statistical significance between dependent and independent variables. The prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder was 38.8% (95% CI: 33.8–44.0). Variables such as history of drinking alcohol prior to incarceration (AOR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.1–3.01), chewing Khat (AOR = 1.91, 95%CI 1.01–3.4), those who did not read books (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.13–3.50), never attending religious place (AOR 3.19, 95%CI 1.24–8.2), didn’t engage in physical exercise (AOR = 3.67, 95%CI 2.18–6.20), poor social support (AOR = 8.52, 95%CI 1.70-43.41) were significantly associated with generalized anxiety disorders among inmates. This study shows a high prevalence of generalized anxiety disorders among inmate at Wollega zones. So, holistic mental health services targeted to (prisoners) should be encouraged as it reduces psychological problems including anxiety, and facilitate rehabilitation.