Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (701 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Feelings or emotions of dread, apprehension, and impending disaster but not disabling as with anxiety disorders.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Angst; Nervousness; Hypervigilance; Social Anxiety; Anxieties, Social; Anxiety, Social; Social Anxieties; Anxiousness.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Emotions
- Narrower topics
- Anxiety, Castration; Catastrophization; Climate Anxiety; Dental Anxiety; Performance Anxiety
- See also
- Anxiety Disorders; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Phobia, Social
Related concepts
- Anxiety Disorders
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 140,582 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Anxiety” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 55,416 of them (39.4%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2020 onward with 55,416 records.
Reviews account for 12,696 records (9.0%) and meta-analyses for 3,345. Randomized controlled trials number 11,422 (8.1%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up a comparatively large share of this literature, which means many treatment questions have been tested directly.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 24,510 |
| 2000-2009 | 17,763 |
| 2010-2019 | 42,893 |
| 2020 onward | 55,416 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 12,696 | 9.0% |
| Meta-analyses | 3,345 | 2.4% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 11,422 | 8.1% |
Method: PubMed query "Anxiety"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in psychiatry and psychology
Research on mental health and behaviour relies on questionnaires, interviews and rating scales rather than physical measurements, so how a condition was defined and measured shapes every result. Many studies are observational or small, placebo responses can be large, and findings in one group or culture may not carry over to another. Nothing on this page is advice about diagnosis or treatment; anyone worried about their mental health should talk to a qualified clinician. Check how outcomes were measured, who took part and how long they were followed.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Towards cultural validation of the revised children's anxiety and depression scale in Karnataka, India: Think aloud interviews among 13-17 year olds | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 3 | cc by PMID 42616736 · DOI · PMC13489475 |
| Disrupting fzd9b in Zebrafish Recapitulates Stress- and Anxiety-Like Behaviours Relevant to Williams Syndrome | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42637991 · DOI · PMC13503493 |
| Hypoadiponectinemia does not enhance anxiety-like behaviour in a lean PCOS-like mouse model | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 1 | cc by PMID 42693220 · DOI · PMC13542225 |
Towards cultural validation of the revised children's anxiety and depression scale in Karnataka, India: Think aloud interviews among 13-17 year olds [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Improving youth mental health is a national priority in India, especially given the very high rates of youth suicide.
- Closing excerpt
- Potential causes of these difficulties and suggested rephrasing are discussed along with the next stage of validating the measure in India.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (194 words)
Improving youth mental health is a national priority in India, especially given the very high rates of youth suicide. Yet prevalence data in India is often incomplete and more culturally validated mental health measures are needed to inform prevention and intervention work. The Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-47) is a widely-used measure of mental health globally, including in India, but is yet to be culturally validated there. As the first step in establishing cultural validity, this study aimed to establish the cultural and semantic equivalence of the English-version of the RCADS-47 in a sample of Indian adolescents. This study examined Indian adolescents' (n = 12) understanding of the measure items and response meaning via Think Aloud interviews. Responses to each item were coded according to predefined categories representing comprehension. Items coded as problematic for three or more participants were considered for rephrasing. Of the 47 items, 14 were identified as problematic, with the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder subscale presenting the most problems. Several RCADS-47 items were identified as potentially problematic for Indian adolescents. Potential causes of these difficulties and suggested rephrasing are discussed along with the next stage of validating the measure in India.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42616736 · DOI · PMC13489475
Disrupting fzd9b in Zebrafish Recapitulates Stress- and Anxiety-Like Behaviours Relevant to Williams Syndrome [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Williams syndrome (WS) is a multifaceted developmental disorder characterized by a spectrum of physical and intellectual traits.
- Closing excerpt
- Together, our results highlight a conserved role for Fzd9b in modulating stress reactivity and anxiety-like behaviour in zebrafish and support FZD9 as a contributor to WS-associated neurobehavioural alterations.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (221 words)
Williams syndrome (WS) is a multifaceted developmental disorder characterized by a spectrum of physical and intellectual traits. Individuals with WS exhibit friendly, impulsive, and hyper-social behaviours, often coupled with anxiety. WS is caused by a hemizygous microdeletion on chromosome 7q11.23. Among the affected genes, FZD9 is implicated in neural development and synaptic function. Thus, we postulated that disruption of FZD9 might contribute to the behavioural features of WS, and that pharmacological modulation of Wnt signalling, particularly the canonical β-catenin pathway, could offer therapeutic potential. We generated two zebrafish lines carrying predicted loss-of-function alleles of fzd9b, a zebrafish orthologue of FZD9. Our results demonstrated that mutant fish exhibited altered expression of hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis-related genes, increased neuronal branching, impaired habituation to acoustic startle, and increased anxiety-like behaviour in adulthood. Canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway gene expression was also altered, together with the expression of other frizzled receptors; however, acute GSK-3 inhibition failed to rescue behavioural phenotypes under the conditions tested. These findings indicate that the selected acute treatment paradigm was insufficient to reverse the phenotype but do not exclude a contribution of canonical Wnt signalling. Expression of fzd9b, wnt5b, and tafa5l was upregulated, further supporting transcriptional dysregulation. Together, our results highlight a conserved role for Fzd9b in modulating stress reactivity and anxiety-like behaviour in zebrafish and support FZD9 as a contributor to WS-associated neurobehavioural alterations.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42637991 · DOI · PMC13503493
Hypoadiponectinemia does not enhance anxiety-like behaviour in a lean PCOS-like mouse model [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by reproductive and metabolic disturbances and associated with higher prevalence of anxiety and depression.
- Closing excerpt
- gov: NCT01319162, NCT00484705, NCT01457209, and NCT00921492.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (286 words)
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by reproductive and metabolic disturbances and associated with higher prevalence of anxiety and depression. Circulating adiponectin, an insulin-sensitizing adipokine, is reduced in women with PCOS, and low adiponectin has been linked to impaired mental health, particularly in females. We investigated whether low serum adiponectin is associated with impaired mental health in women with PCOS and whether adiponectin deficiency exacerbates anxiety-like behaviour in a PCOS-like mouse model. Serum adiponectin was measured in women with (n = 179) and without PCOS (n = 228), stratified by body mass index (BMI). Health-related quality of life was assessed using the short form 36 (SF-36), generating physical and mental component scores. In parallel, the prenatal androgenization (PNA) PCOS-like mouse model was combined with adiponectin-deficient mice (APNhet) to assess the impact of reduced adiponectin on anxiety-like behaviour with and without prenatal androgen exposure. Women with PCOS had lower total and high molecular weight adiponectin levels compared with controls. Adiponectin positively correlated with mental component scores in women with BMI < 30, but not in those with obesity. Free testosterone was inversely correlated with adiponectin. In mice, PNA induced anxiety-like behaviour. However, despite a 65% reduction in serum adiponectin levels in APNhet PNA mice, adiponectin deficiency did not exacerbate the anxiety-like phenotype. Unlike women with PCOS, adult PNA mice were not hyperandrogenic. These findings suggest that adiponectin is associated with mental health in non-obese women, but reduced adiponectin alone does not induce anxiety-like behaviour in the absence of hyperandrogenism. Further studies in hyperandrogenic models are needed to clarify how adiponectin and hyperandrogenism interact across developmental stages and in different BMI groups to influence vulnerability to anxiety and depression in PCOS.Trial registrationClinical trial.gov: NCT01319162, NCT00484705, NCT01457209, and NCT00921492.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42693220 · DOI · PMC13542225
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety Among Adults With Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [4]
- Research article Global prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in the elderly population: a systematic review and meta-analysis [5]
- Research article Clusters of healthy lifestyle behaviours are associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies [6]
- Research article Prevalence of co-morbid anxiety and depression in pregnancy and postpartum: a systematic review and meta-analysis [7]
- Research article Associations of anxiety and depression with prognosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis [8]
- Research article Effectiveness of Digital Lifestyle Interventions on Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Well-Being: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [9]
Full-text reviews on EvidenceLib
Open-access review articles about this topic, reproduced in full with authors, licence and references.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and coexisting depression, anxiety and/or stress in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Sue Shea, Christos Lionis, Chris Kite et al. · Frontiers in Endocrinology 2024 · CC BY 4.0
Maternal Fiber Intake and Perinatal Depression and Anxiety
Neda Ebrahimi, Tiffany Turner, Faith Gallant et al. · Nutrients 2024 · CC BY 4.0
Social determinants of antenatal depression and anxiety among women in South Asia: A systematic review & meta-analysis
Nafisa Insan, Anthony Weke, Simon Forrest et al. · PLoS ONE 2022 · CC BY 4.0
Anxiety and depression in Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review of pathogenetic mechanisms and relation to cognitive decline
Rossana Botto, Nicoletta Callai, Aurora Cermelli et al. · Neurological Sciences 2022 · CC BY 4.0
Prevalence of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress in war- and conflict-afflicted areas: A meta-analysis
Isis Claire Z. Y. Lim, Wilson W. S. Tam, Agata Chudzicka-Czupała et al. · Frontiers in Psychiatry 2022 · CC BY 4.0
References
- Palmer A, O'Connor DB, Bhola P, Khandeparkar P, Janardhana N, Prabhu S, et al.. Towards cultural validation of the revised children's anxiety and depression scale in Karnataka, India: Think aloud interviews among 13-17 year olds. . 2026. PMID 42616736 · DOI · PMC13489475
- Torres-Perez JV, Leggieri A, Wang X, Kehoe A, Van Schalkwyk L, Mech AM, et al.. Disrupting fzd9b in Zebrafish Recapitulates Stress- and Anxiety-Like Behaviours Relevant to Williams Syndrome. . 2026. PMID 42637991 · DOI · PMC13503493
- Samad M, Ek J, Kataoka J, Lindgren E, Ohlsson C, Wernstedt Asterholm I, et al.. Hypoadiponectinemia does not enhance anxiety-like behaviour in a lean PCOS-like mouse model. . 2026. PMID 42693220 · DOI · PMC13542225
- Aaron RV, Ravyts SG, Carnahan ND, Bhattiprolu K, Harte N, McCaulley CC, et al.. Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety Among Adults With Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2025. PMID 40053352 · DOI · PMC11889470
- Jalali A, Ziapour A, Karimi Z, Rezaei M, Emami B, Kalhori RP, et al.. Global prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in the elderly population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Geriatr. 2024. PMID 39367305 · DOI · PMC11451041
- Bourke M, Wang HFW, McNaughton SA, Thomas G, Firth J, Trott M, et al.. Clusters of healthy lifestyle behaviours are associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Clin Psychol Rev. 2025. PMID 40239241 · DOI
- Ou L, Shen Q, Xiao M, Wang W, He T, Wang B. Prevalence of co-morbid anxiety and depression in pregnancy and postpartum: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychol Med. 2025. PMID 40079080 · DOI · PMC12080659
- Wu K, Lu L, Chen Y, Peng J, Wu X, Tang G, et al.. Associations of anxiety and depression with prognosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pulmonology. 2025. PMID 39671175 · DOI
- Brinsley J, O'Connor EJ, Singh B, McKeon G, Curtis R, Ferguson T, et al.. Effectiveness of Digital Lifestyle Interventions on Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Well-Being: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Med Internet Res. 2025. PMID 40112295 · DOI · PMC11969127
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.