Editing Specific phobia (section)

==Epidemiology==

Specific phobia is estimated to affect 6–12% of people at some point in their life.<ref name=Lancet2016>{{cite journal | vauthors = Craske MG, Stein MB | title = Anxiety | journal = Lancet | volume = 388 | issue = 10063 | pages = 3048–3059 | date = December 2016 | pmid = 27349358 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30381-6 | s2cid = 208789585 }}</ref> There may be a large amount of [[Under-reporting|underreporting]] of specific phobias as many people do not seek treatment, with some surveys conducted in the US finding that 70% of the population reports having one or more unreasonable fears.<ref name=":1" />

Specific phobias have a lifetime prevalence rate of 7.4% and a one-year prevalence of 5.5% according to data collected from 22 different countries.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal | vauthors = Wardenaar KJ, Lim CC, Al-Hamzawi AO, Alonso J, Andrade LH, Benjet C, Bunting B, de Girolamo G, Demyttenaere K, Florescu SE, Gureje O, Hisateru T, Hu C, Huang Y, Karam E, Kiejna A, Lepine JP, Navarro-Mateu F, Oakley Browne M, Piazza M, Posada-Villa J, Ten Have ML, Torres Y, Xavier M, Zarkov Z, Kessler RC, Scott KM, de Jonge P | display-authors = 6 | title = The cross-national epidemiology of specific phobia in the World Mental Health Surveys | journal = Psychological Medicine | volume = 47 | issue = 10 | pages = 1744–1760 | date = July 2017 | pmid = 28222820 | pmc = 5674525 | doi = 10.1017/S0033291717000174 }}</ref> The usual age of onset is childhood to adolescence. During childhood and adolescence, the incidence of new specific phobias is much higher in females than males. The peak incidence for specific phobias amongst females occurs during reproduction and childrearing, possibly reflecting an evolutionary advantage. There is an additional peak in incidence, reaching nearly 1% per year, during old age in both men and women, possibly reflective of newly occurring physical conditions or adverse life events.<ref name=":1" /> The development of phobias varies with subtypes, with animal and blood injection phobias typically beginning in childhood (ages 5–12), whereas development of situational specific phobias (i.e., fear of flying) usually occurs in late adolescence and early adulthood.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Katzman MA, Bleau P, Blier P, Chokka P, Kjernisted K, Van Ameringen M, Antony MM, Bouchard S, Brunet A, Flament M, Grigoriadis S, Mendlowitz S, O'Connor K, Rabheru K, Richter PM, Robichaud M, Walker JR | display-authors = 6 | title = Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of anxiety, posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorders | journal = BMC Psychiatry | volume = 14 | pages = S1 | date = 2014 | pmid = 25081580 | pmc = 4120194 | doi = 10.1186/1471-244X-14-S1-S1 | first10 = Alain | first11 = Martine | first8 = Martin M. | first9 = Stéphane | issue = Suppl 1 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

In the US, the lifetime prevalence rate is 12.5% and a one-year prevalence rate of 9.1%.<ref name=":2" /> An estimated 12.5% of U.S. adults experience specific phobia at some time in their lives and the prevalence is approximately double in females compared to males. An estimated 19.3% of adolescents experience specific phobia, but the difference between males and females is not as pronounced.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Specific Phobia|url=https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/specific-phobia|access-date=2021-11-29|website=National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)|language=en}}</ref>