Blood-injection-injury phobia in older adults

Background: This study aims to (i) estimate the prevalence of blood-injection-injury phobia (BIIP) diagnosed as present at any time during the life prior to the interview, with or without another Specific Phobia diagnosed as present during the 12 months prior to the interview, (ii) characterize types and frequencies of co-occurring fears, (iii) evaluate the association with chronic medical conditions and lifetime psychiatric comorbidity, and (iv) explore medical service use associations in a nationally representative sample of older adults. Methods: A sample of 8,205 older adults, aged 65 years or older, was derived from Wave 1 of the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Results: The weighted lifetime prevalence of BIIP with and without 12-month Specific Phobia was 0.6% (95% CI: 0.4-0.8) and 4.2% (95% CI: 3.7-4.8), respectively, and these two groups ranked similarly in terms of sociodemographic, health, and psychiatric characteristics. BIIP most frequently co-occurred with other lifetime fears, and was positively associated with hypertension and lifetime history of anxiety and personality disorders after controlling for sociodemographic and psychiatric confounders. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that lifetime BIIP may bear mental and physical health significance in older adults.