Anxiety Disorders Among Children and Adolescents Attending Sultan Qaboos University Hospital: A 10-Year Retrospective Chart Review

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric conditions affecting children and adolescents. We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients attending the Department of Behavioral Medicine at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), Muscat, Oman, between January 2009 and January 2019. In total, 3384 patients of all ages had a recorded ICD-10 anxiety disorder diagnosis; 486 were younger than 20 years; and 194 of those 486 had records containing sufficient clinical detail for analysis. Children were defined as patients younger than 12 years and adolescents as those aged 12 to less than 20 years. Among the 194 analyzed patients, 101 (52.1%) were female and 146 (75.3%) were adolescents. Unspecified anxiety was the largest recorded diagnostic category (104; 53.6%) followed by generalized anxiety disorder (69; 35.6%), phobic anxiety (11; 5.7%) and separation anxiety (10; 5.2%). Diagnostic category was strongly associated with age group (Fisher’s exact p < 0.001). These findings underscore the need for further research and for early detection and tailored interventions.