A study to evaluate the anxiety levels in children having specific learning disabilities [SpLD] compared to regular [non-learning disabled] children

**Background and Objectives:**Anxiety disorders usually remain undiagnosed in school students owing to the internalized nature of its symptoms. The present study was conducted with the primary objective of evaluating the prevalence of anxiety in school children in Mumbai city. A secondary objective was to assess the impact of confoundingfactors on anxiety.

**Materials and Methods:**Thestudy cases (aged 8-15 years) were recruited from four English medium schools in Mumbai, India. The SCAS T-scores (total and subscales) of the students were calculated and cut-off T-scores>60 was considered as indicative of elevated anxiety levelas recommended.

**Results:**One-tenth (10.8%) of regular school students had “clinical anxietyâ€. A significantly higher proportion of regular students “aged 12-15 years†(18.0% vs. 4.8%, crude OR = 4.36, 95% CI 2.27 to 8.39, P< 0.0001) had “clinical anxiety†as compared to regular students “aged 8-11 yearsâ€regardless ofgender, absence or presence of sibling(s), the type of school board curriculum and type of school attended. All the five types of anxiety disorders were present in the study cases; with “obsessions/compulsions†and “fears of physical injury†being the commonest (in 29.6% and 27.2%, respectively). Significantly higher proportions ofolder students (aged 12-15 years) and male students had greater odds of having specific subtypes of anxiety disorders such as “obsessions/compulsions†and “social anxiety.â€

**Interpretation and Conclusions:**The results of the present study suggest that there is an urgent need to start screening school students in our city for anxiety disorders.