| Abstract [eng] |
Objective. To analyze literature and clinical studies on children's and adolescents’ anxiety disorders, diagnostics possibilities, and connection with other mental illnesses. Prepare proposals for earlier diagnosis and treatment of anxiety in children. Methods. The literature review was carried out in Pubmed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar databases from 2023.12.01 to 2024.05.01. The search was carried out using keywords and compounds "children anxiety disorder", "treatment OR therapy", "children anxiety comorbidities". The period of publication of articles is 2015-2024, selected articles are published in English or Lithuanian. The results of 52 chosen articles were divided into main groups: nature of disorders, comorbidity and treatment. Results. Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders in children. Over the past few decades, the number of children facing this problem has increased and it is affecting younger children. The scales used in the diagnostic help to assess level of anxiety in children and reduction of anxiety level during/after treatment. Statistics show that most children with clinical symptoms of anxiety disorders meet the criteria for more than one mental disorder. The gold standard in treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy. Medication or a combination of these two methods are also possible. Conclusions. Due to high anxiety disorder in children, appropriate interventions should be taken: early identification of risk factors, improving diagnostic availability, preventing development and, if necessary, starting treatment. Also, proper lifestyle: physical activity, balanced diet contribute to reducing anxiety symptoms and are recommended to be integrated into daily routine. |
