2026-09-14T13:23:39Zhttps://gredos.usal.es/oai/request

oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/1607432025-04-30T20:10:17Zcom_10366_4322com_10366_4200com_10366_3946com_10366_3823col_10366_4323

Farhane-Medina, Naima Z. Luque, Bárbara Tabernero Urbieta, María Carmen Castillo-Mayén, Rosario 2024-11-22T08:25:02Z 2024-11-22T08:25:02Z 2022 Farhane-Medina, N. Z., Luque, B., Tabernero, C., Castillo-Mayén, R., Farhane-Medina, N. Z., Luque, B., Tabernero, C., & Castillo-Mayén, R. (2022). Factors associated with gender and sex differences in anxiety prevalence and comorbidity: A systematic review. En Science progress (No. 4; Vol. 105, Número 4). https://doi.org/10.1177/00368504221135469 0036-8504 http://hdl.handle.net/10366/160743 10.1177/00368504221135469 2047-7163 [EN]Abstract Background: The prevalence and comorbidity of anxiety disorders are significantly different between women and men, with research showing a greater impact on women. The aim of this review was to identify the psychosocial and biological factors that have been considered to explain this gender and sex difference in prevalence and determine whether these factors are related to any anxiety comorbidity differences between men and women. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, we carried out a systematic review of studies published between 2008 and 2021 in PsycINFO and PubMed databases. Empirical and review studies evaluating psychosocial and biological factors that could influence the difference in prevalence and comorbidity between men and women were included. A qualitative narrative synthesis was performed to describe the results. Results: From 1012 studies, 44 studies were included. Retrieved articles were categorized depending on their object of study: psychosocial factors (n=21), biological factors (n=16), or comorbidity (n=7). Results showed that differences in anxiety between women and men have been analyzed by psychosocial and biological factors but rarely together. Among the psychosocial factors analyzed, masculinity may be a protective factor for anxiety development, while femininity can be a risk factor. In the studies that took biological factors into account, the potential influence of brain structures, genetic factors, and fluctuations in sexual hormones are pointed out as causes of greater anxiety in women. Concerning comorbidity, the results noted that women tend to develop other internalizing disorders (e.g. depression), while men tend to develop externalizing disorders (e.g. substance abuse). Conclusions: For an accurate understanding of differences between women and men in anxiety, both biological and psychosocial factors should be considered. This review highlights the need to apply the biopsychosocial model of health and the gender perspective to address differences in anxiety between sexes. eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Anxiety Sex differences Gender differences Women’s mental health Systematic review Factors associated with gender and sex differences in anxiety prevalence and comorbidity: A systematic review info:eu-repo/semantics/article