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Are Indigenous Determinants of Health Associated with Self-Reported Health Professional-Diagnosed Anxiety Disorders Among Canadian First Nations Adults?: Findings from the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey

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Abstract

We estimated the prevalence of self-reported health professional-diagnosed anxiety disorders among Canadian First Nations adults living off-reserve, and assessed the relationship between anxiety disorders and Indigenous determinants of health (Status Indian, residential school attendance, knowledge of Indigenous language, and participation in traditional activities) using the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey. Multivariable logistic regression models were performed using bootstrap weights. The prevalence of anxiety disorders was 14.5% among off-reserve First Nations adults. There was an increased odds of anxiety disorders among those participating in traditional activities compared to their counterparts (aOR 1.46, 95% CI 1.12–1.90). No association was found between anxiety disorders and other Indigenous determinants of health. There is a high prevalence of self-reported anxiety among First Nations adults living off-reserve. However, further studies are warranted to identify and assess the role of Indigenous determinants of health for anxiety disorders and other prevalent mental health conditions in this population.

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Acknowledgements

Alana Maltby was supported by the ‘Children’s Heart Health’ grant from the Children’s Health Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

    Sharifa Nasreen, Ramanpreet Brar, Samanpreet Brar, Alana Maltby & Piotr Wilk

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  1. Sharifa Nasreen
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  2. Ramanpreet Brar
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  3. Samanpreet Brar
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Correspondence to Sharifa Nasreen.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

Ethical approval was not needed as the study relied on anonymous and confidential secondary data from Statistics Canada. Consent from respondents was obtained at the time of data collection. Formal consent is not required for our study. Data were provided by Statistics Canada through the Research Data Centres program and accessed under the Statistics Act of Canada. The analyses and the interpretation are the authors’ alone.

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Nasreen, S., Brar, R., Brar, S. et al. Are Indigenous Determinants of Health Associated with Self-Reported Health Professional-Diagnosed Anxiety Disorders Among Canadian First Nations Adults?: Findings from the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey. Community Ment Health J 54, 460–468 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-017-0165-0

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