Table 2.
Odds ratios and confidence intervals of physical diseases (12 months) for specific phobia and its subtypes (12 months) compared to a reference group that had no specific phobia during the past 12 months in the German Health Interview and Examination Survey – Mental Health Supplement (N = 4,181)
| Phobia | Physical disease | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hypertension (n = 581) | Cardiac diseases (n = 100) | Gastro-intestinal diseases (n = 268) | Respiratory diseases (n = 284) | Diabetes (n = 115) | Arthritic conditions (n = 1107) | Allergies (n = 747) | Migraine (n = 491) | Neurological diseases (n = 27) | Thyroid diseases (n = 445) | Vascular diseases (n = 536) | Any physical disease (n = 2602) | |
| Any specific phobia (n = 388) | 1.22 (0.88–1.67) (n = 69) | 1.94 (1.05–3.57)* (n = 16) | 2.53 (1.73–3.69)* (n = 47) | 2.20 (1.52–3.16)* (n = 49) | 1.26 (0.63–2.51) (n = 12) | 1.49 (1.15–1.92)* (n = 131) | 1.29 (0.94–1.76) (n = 80) | 1.99 (1.47–2.69)* (n = 78) | 0.68 (0.09–4.95) (n = 1) | 1.72 (1.24–2.37)* (n = 69) | 1.17 (0.83–1.65) (n = 62) | 1.87 (1.30–2.68)* (n = 289) |
| Animal subtypeb (n = 68) | 0.88 (0.39–1.97) (n = 8) | 2.76 (0.82–9.17) (n = 3) | 3.53 (1.73–7.19)* (n = 14) | 2.52 (1.10–5.76)* (n = 8) | 1.92 (0.45–8.15) (n = 2) | 0.93 (0.48–1.78) (n = 15) | 2.02 (1.008–4.05)* (n = 18) | 1.54 (0.79–2.99) (n = 13) | 4.07 (0.52–31.37) (n = 1) | 1.44 (0.73–2.86) (n = 13) | 1.04 (0.49–2.20) (n = 10) | 1.24 (0.53-2.87) (n = 48) |
| Natural subtypeb (n = 75) | 1.45 (0.75–2.80) (n = 15) | 2.28 (0.76–6.87) (n = 4) | 2.53 (0.99–6.41) (n = 6) | 1.66 (0.62–4.38) (n = 6) | 0.86 (0.19-3.81) (n = 2) | 1.55 (0.90–2.65) (n = 26) | 1.28 (0.61–2.65) (n = 13) | 2.40 (1.29–4.45)* (n = 17) | −a | 1.41 (0.70–2.80) (n = 13) | 1.74 (0.89–3.40) (n = 16) | 2.02 (0.99–4.09) (n = 58) |
| Blood-injection subtypeb (n = 63) | 0.89 (0.38–2.06) (n = 8) | 2.05 (0.47–8.80) (n = 2) | 2.20 (0.89–5.39) (n = 6) | 2.14 (1.05-4.36)* (n = 10) | 1.03 (0.14–7.49) (n = 1) | 1.25 (0.68–2.25) (n = 19) | 0.84 (0.40–1.73) (n = 9) | 1.60 (0.71–3.55) (n = 8) | −a | 1.56 (0.64–3.73) (n = 7) | 0.75 (0.30–1.85) (n = 6) | 0.99 (0.50–1.95) (n = 35) |
| Situational subtypeb (n = 88) | 1.49 (0.86–2.56) (n = 22) | 1.81 (0.64–5.14) (n = 5) | 2.35 (1.14–4.85)* (n = 10) | 1.63 (0.77–3.44) (n = 9) | 1.17 (0.40–3.44) (n = 4) | 1.82 (1.12–2.93)* (n = 34) | 0.84 (0.46-1.52) (n = 17) | 2.08 (1.16–3.70)* (n = 18) | −a | 2.55 (1.42–4.57)* (n = 21) | 0.71 (0.36–1.37) (n = 13) | 1.70 (0.76-3.80) (n = 69) |
| Otherb (n = 3) | −a | −a | −a | −a | −a | −a | −a | −a | −a | 29.91 (2.36-378.42)* (n = 2) | −a | 1.55 (0.12–19.62) (n = 2) |
Note.CI confidence interval, DSM-IV Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, NOS not other specified, OR Odds Ratio, n unweighted number of subjects, % weighted percentage, *p < 0.05, aempty cell size, bSubjects did not fulfill the criteria of any other subtype, adjusted for sex