Sep 01, 2015 12:30 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

New research suggests that women living in more deprived areas in the UK are twice as likely to develop clinical anxiety as men.

Generalized anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental health conditions in modern society, but little objective work has taken place to show the factors in society which can lead to the development of anxiety. 

"Women living in poor neighborhoods were at an almost two times higher risk of developing GAD than those living in less deprived neighborhoods. This link between deprivation and mental illness, however, does not appear to exist in men. This is intriguing, and further research is needed to shed light on this," Olivia Remes, lead researcher of the study, said in a statement.

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from more than 20,000 men and women in the UK.

They found that women living in more deprived areas in the UK were almost twice as likely to develop clinical anxiety as those living in areas that were not deprived, but this link between poverty and clinical anxiety does not exist in men.

They also found that men who perceive themselves to be in poor health are over five times more likely to develop anxiety than men who perceive their health to be good. However, women who believe they are in poor health are only three times more likely to develop clinical anxiety.

It is unclear yet why the link between self-perceived health and GAD should exist. Poor self-perceived health can be a warning signal for future mental illness, however, additional research is needed to shed light on the exact mechanisms driving this association. We have found these associations, now we need to see if we can find out what causes them," Remes said.

In general anxiety decreased significantly with age, in both men and women.

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