If you are trying to place one person’s anxiety in the wider picture, age is not a simple ranking—the 2023 Central Europe figures show a childhood peak, young-adult trough and adult rise

You arrived looking at anxiety by age in Central Europe and trying to place one person’s experience in the wider picture.

The clearest answer is a curve: rates are highest at ages 5–9 and 10–14, fall through young adulthood, then rise again across later adult age groups.

GBD 2023 records this pattern for both sexes in Central Europe. Does a lower rate in adulthood mean anxiety stops mattering?

The age figures answer that later, by separating current prevalence, new cases and total disease burden.

Before the sections open, the figures this page stands on — each one carrying its own source.

What the Central Europe anxiety pattern shows by age

You may have reached this page after comparing one age group with another and finding that the numbers do not move in one straight line.

The main pattern is clear across the seven age bands: anxiety rates start low in early childhood, rise sharply by ages 5–9, then decline toward ages 25–29.

After that low point, the rate rises through the adult groups shown here. The increase continues from ages 30–34 through ages 60–64.

That shape matters for the reader trying to understand one result.

A lower adult rate does not describe every age equally, and a high childhood rate does not predict one person’s future.

The figures describe groups in Central Europe during 2023. They do not identify the cause of anxiety for a particular child, teenager or adult.

For a quick view, pick the age band that matches the person you are thinking about. The comparison keeps the measure and the age range together.

The table’s central message is the turning point around young adulthood. Rates fall from childhood and adolescence into the 25–29 group, then move upward again.

How many people were living with anxiety disorders in 2023

If the reader is looking at the number of people affected, the age pattern looks different from the rate pattern.

About 9,000 people aged 2–4 were living with anxiety disorders in Central Europe in 2023. The figure rises to about 350,000 among those aged 5–9.

Among ages 10–14, about 544,000 people were living with anxiety disorders. The next group, ages 15–19, included about 418,000 people.

The counts then move through about 346,000 at ages 20–24 and about 352,000 at ages 25–29. They rise to about 393,000 at ages 30–34.

Later groups included about 431,000 people aged 35–39, about 451,000 aged 40–44, and about 476,000 aged 45–49.

Counts then stood at about 447,000 for ages 50–54, about 418,000 for ages 55–59, and about 431,000 for ages 60–64.

These counts show why age groups need careful reading.

The largest number of people can appear in a group with a large population, even when another group has a higher rate.

For the person who arrived with one age in mind, the matching count gives scale. It does not provide a personal diagnosis or say how severe one person’s symptoms are.

The age-specific counts give the reader a way to see where the affected population is concentrated. The rates provide the fairer comparison across age groups.

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Which age groups have the highest anxiety prevalence rates

You may be weighing a child’s experience against an adult figure and wondering whether the difference reflects age or population size.

Prevalence rates answer that comparison. They describe the share of each age group living with anxiety disorders at the measured time.

The rate for ages 2–4 was 268 per 100,000, or about 0.3%.

At ages 5–9, it rose to 5,810 per 100,000, or about 5.8%.

Ages 10–14 had the highest recorded prevalence rate in the Central Europe figures: 8,601 per 100,000, or about 8.6%.

The rate fell to 6,741 per 100,000, or about 6.7%, among ages 15–19.

It reached 5,862 per 100,000, or about 5.9%, at ages 20–24.

The lowest rate in the listed age groups appeared at ages 25–29: 5,458 per 100,000, or about 5.5%.

From there, the figures rose to 5,202 per 100,000, or about 5.2%, at ages 30–34, then 5,091 per 100,000, or about 5.1%, at ages 35–39.

The adult rise then continued: 5,069 per 100,000 at ages 40–44, 5,238 per 100,000 at ages 45–49, and 5,492 per 100,000 at ages 50–54.

Rates reached 5,744 per 100,000 at ages 55–59 and 5,943 per 100,000 at ages 60–64.

For this reader, the answer is specific. Central Europe’s 2023 prevalence rate peaks at ages 10–14, reaches its listed low at ages 25–29, and rises again afterward.

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What the annual new-case rates add to the picture

If the reader is focused on cases appearing during a year, prevalence alone leaves out an important part of the comparison.

Annual incidence rates describe new cases per year within each age group. They show a similar age pattern, with the strongest rates in childhood.

The annual incidence rate was 305 per 100,000 for ages 2–4. It rose to 1,143 per 100,000 for ages 5–9.

At ages 10–14, the rate reached 800 per 100,000. It then fell to 488 per 100,000 among ages 15–19.

The decline continued through young adulthood.

Rates were 444 per 100,000 at ages 20–24, 437 per 100,000 at ages 25–29, 431 per 100,000 at ages 30–34, and 428 per 100,000 at ages 35–39.

After ages 35–39, the annual incidence rate moved upward. It reached 439 per 100,000 at ages 40–44 and 465 per 100,000 at ages 45–49.

The rate was 487 per 100,000 at ages 50–54, 506 per 100,000 at ages 55–59, and 523 per 100,000 at ages 60–64.

The new-case counts follow the same broad movement.

They were about 10,000 at ages 2–4, about 69,000 at ages 5–9, and about 51,000 at ages 10–14.

They then fell to about 30,000 at ages 15–19, about 26,000 at ages 20–24, and about 28,000 at ages 25–29.

Adult counts rose to about 33,000 at ages 30–34, about 36,000 at ages 35–39, and about 39,000 at ages 40–44.

The later figures were about 42,000 at ages 45–49, about 40,000 at ages 50–54, about 37,000 at ages 55–59, and about 38,000 at ages 60–64.

For the reader, incidence answers a narrower question than prevalence. It concerns new cases during the year, while prevalence includes people already living with the disorder.

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Why the age pattern changes after young adulthood

You may notice that the adult rate rises after ages 25–29 even though it remains below the childhood peak.

The cited figures establish that movement. They do not establish why the adult rate rises, so the careful conclusion stops with the observed pattern.

That distinction protects the reader from turning an age comparison into a cause. The data measure differences between age groups in Central Europe in 2023.

They do not test whether work, family life, health, social conditions or another factor produced those differences. None of those explanations can be assigned from these figures alone.

The same caution applies to the childhood peak. A high rate among ages 5–9 or 10–14 describes the group’s measured burden.

It does not mean every child in that range has anxiety. It also does not show that age alone creates anxiety disorders.

Readers often bring a personal timeline to an age chart. Someone may have symptoms before the peak group, during it, or later in life.

The chart can locate that experience within a population pattern. It cannot replace an assessment of the person’s own symptoms, history or needs.

A separate meta-analysis of 41 studies across 27 countries found a worldwide prevalence of any anxiety disorder in children and adolescents of 6.5%.

That finding gives useful wider context, while the Central Europe figures answer a different question.

One covers a worldwide research summary; the other gives age-specific estimates for Central Europe in 2023.

The two figures should sit alongside each other as context. They should not be treated as the same estimate or combined into a new one.

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How disease burden differs from prevalence and incidence

If the reader sees the term DALYs, the measure needs its own place in the comparison.

DALYs record total disease burden in the age group. The cited data report about 68,000 DALYs for ages 10–14 in Central Europe in 2023.

The burden figure fell to about 51,000 at ages 15–19, about 42,000 at ages 20–24, and about 43,000 at ages 25–29.

It then rose to about 47,000 at ages 30–34, about 51,000 at ages 35–39, and about 53,000 at ages 40–44.

Later adult groups recorded about 56,000 DALYs at ages 45–49, about 52,000 at ages 50–54, about 48,000 at ages 55–59, and about 48,000 at ages 60–64.

The available burden figures begin at ages 10–14 in the cited set. The source also reports about 48,000 DALYs at ages 60–64.

These values do not follow exactly the same order as prevalence rates.

That difference is expected from the fact that each measure captures a different part of the reported disease burden.

For the reader’s question, DALYs add a burden view. Prevalence shows how many people are living with anxiety disorders, incidence shows new cases per year, and DALYs show total burden.

Choose the measure that matches the question in front of you. A question about people living with anxiety calls for prevalence; a question about new cases calls for incidence.

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What the 2023 figures can and cannot tell one reader

You may see your own age group in the chart and wonder whether its rate confirms what is happening to you.

It cannot confirm an individual diagnosis. A population estimate describes a group, while a personal conclusion requires information about one person.

The figures can answer whether anxiety disorders were recorded across every listed age range. They can show where the rates peaked, where they fell, and where they rose again.

They also show that the answer changes with the measure.

The highest prevalence rate was among ages 10–14, while the adult rate reached its listed low at ages 35–39 before rising across later groups.

That wording matters because the low point depends on the metric.

The prevalence rate reached its listed low at ages 25–29, while the annual incidence rate reached its listed low at ages 35–39.

The source reports both sexes together. These figures therefore do not provide separate age patterns for females and males.

A reader comparing countries should also keep the location fixed. These values describe Central Europe, so they do not establish the same pattern for another region.

The year matters as well. These are 2023 estimates from GBD 2023, rather than a timeless description of anxiety by age.

A second cited finding reports that social anxiety disorder has a median age of onset of about 13 years.

Roughly 75% of cases began between ages 8 and 15 in that source, which examined social anxiety disorder specifically.

That onset finding gives context for the high Central Europe figures around ages 10–14.

It does not explain every anxiety disorder or prove that one reader’s anxiety began at that age.

Another cited study found that about 40% of people with depression also met criteria for an anxiety disorder, while about 52% of people with an anxiety disorder also met criteria for depression in a US national sample.

That result concerns co-occurrence in a US sample. It does not change the Central Europe age estimates or show that depression caused them.

Place each finding in its own frame. Age, region, disorder type, measure and study design all shape what a number can support.

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What the Central Europe age curve means in plain language

You arrived looking for a direct reading of anxiety by age, and the direct reading is a changing population pattern.

Early childhood carries the lowest listed prevalence rate. The rate rises sharply by ages 5–9 and reaches its highest listed point at ages 10–14.

From adolescence into young adulthood, prevalence falls through ages 15–19, 20–24 and 25–29.

The 25–29 group has the lowest listed prevalence rate among the age bands from 5–9 onward.

Adult prevalence then rises across ages 30–34, 35–39, 40–44, 45–49, 50–54, 55–59 and 60–64.

Annual incidence follows a related path. It reaches its highest listed rate at ages 5–9, falls through ages 35–39, and then rises through ages 60–64.

Total disease burden also varies by age. The reported DALY values are highest among the listed groups at ages 45–49, with lower values in several younger and older groups.

None of these measures gives a personal verdict. They give the reader a clearer map of what GBD 2023 recorded for both sexes in Central Europe.

The answer to the question that opened this article is therefore measured and specific.

Lower adult rates do not erase anxiety, and higher childhood rates do not determine one person’s path.

For one reader, the useful conclusion is the shape itself: childhood and early adolescence stand out, young adulthood reaches a lower point, and later adulthood shows a gradual rise.

Keep the age band, measure, region and year beside every figure. That is how the research stays connected to what it actually shows.

This is general information about the mind, not therapy or a diagnosis. If things feel hard, please consult a professional. In a crisis, reach a free, confidential crisis hotline right away; findahelpline.com lists one for your country.