Demographic factors influencing psychiatric rating scales (Zung SDS and SAS).

Zung's Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were completed by 489 healthy volunteers (314 men, 175 women) aged 15-84 years. The total scores were analysed in function of sex, age, occupational class, professional group, marital status, religion, foreigner status and nationality. Analysis by orthogonal polynomial regression showed no statistically significant differences between different age groups. In contrast to this, the study revealed highly significant SAS and SDS score differences between both sexes (Mann-Whitney U-test). In addition, there were statistically significant associations between the SAS scores and occupational class, professional group, religion, foreigner status and nationality; compared with significant associations between the SDS scores and marital status, foreigner status and nationality (Kruskal-Wallis test/Mann-Whitney U-test). The requirements for data analysis in clinical trials, for a differential diagnosis between transient variations of normal health and disorders, and for a differential diagnosis between anxiety and depression are discussed.