Late bedtime reflects QTA30 anxiety symptoms in adolescents in a school checkup

• Published in: Pediatrics international 2021-09, Vol.63 (9), p.1108-1116
• Main Authors: Habukawa, Chizu, Nagamitsu, Shinichiro, Koyanagi, Kenshi, Nishikii, Yumi, Yanagimoto, Yoshitoki, Yoshida, Seiji, Suzuki, Yuichi, Go, Soken, Murakami, Katsumi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adolescence; Adolescents; Anxiety; late bedtime; Pediatrics; psychosomatic disorder; QTA30; Questionnaires; school medical checkup; Teenagers
• ISSN: 1328-8067; 1442-200X
• DOI: 10.1111/ped.14554

Background In adolescence, physical symptoms may develop due to psychosocial problems but such problems are not fully evaluated in school medical checkups. The aim of this study was to compare lifestyle factors with psychosomatic symptoms in adolescents using the subscales of the Questionnaire for Triage and Assessment with 30 items (QTA30) in school health checkups. Methods The QTA30 was used in checkups for 3,414 students from the fifth grade of primary school to the third grade of junior high school in south Wakayama prefecture. The QTA is a self‐completed questionnaire with five subscales of physical symptoms, depression symptoms, self‐efficacy, anxiety symptoms, and family function. Each subscale is divided into three groups of clinical, borderline, and healthy, based on the subscale score. Subscale scores were compared with lifestyle items of gender, grade, habits, life events, and school attendance. Results The clinical rate for all subscales was significantly higher for a higher grade (P