Risk factors of anxiety disorders in Korean children and adolescents: National mental health survey of Korea.

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders in youth and are associated with impaired academic, social, and developmental outcomes. Despite their public health importance, nationally representative evidence integrating individual, family, and environmental correlates among Korean youth remains limited. Data were obtained from the National Mental Health Survey of Korea-Child & Adolescent 2022, a nationally representative sample of 6275 participants aged 6-17 years. Anxiety disorders were diagnosed using the Korean Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Computerized Version. Survey-weighted logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Stratified analyses by developmental stage (<12 years and ≥12 years) were performed to examine age-specific differences in risk profiles. The prevalence of anxiety disorder was 10.2%. Female sex (aOR=1.36, 95% CI=1.13-1.64), sleep disruption occurring monthly or more often (aOR=1.83, 95% CI=1.44-2.34), infrequent physical activity (aOR=1.51, 95% CI=1.02-2.24), peer victimization (aOR=2.28, 95% CI=1.73-3.00), urban residence (aOR=1.74, 95% CI=1.18-2.56), parental divorce (aOR=2.70, 95% CI=1.64-4.49), and unknown parental marital status (aOR=4.86, 95% CI=2.92-8.11) were associated with higher odds of anxiety disorder, whereas underweight status (aOR=0.34, 95% CI=0.16-0.71) and larger household size (aOR=0.42, 95% CI=0.24-0.75) were inversely associated with anxiety disorder. In age-stratified analyses, sleep disruption, peer victimization, and urban residence were consistently associated with anxiety disorder across both age groups. These findings highlight the importance of individual, interpersonal, social-environmental, and family/household correlates of anxiety disorder among Korean youth and support the need for multilevel prevention strategies.