Pepsinogen II and a no-pickled food diet are risk factors for female patients with anxiety: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: No studies have evaluated the relationship between lifestyle and Pepsinogen (PG)I, PGII and Gastrin (G)17 in patients with anxiety. Using data from the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University study, we aimed to identify factors associated with anxiety.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional observational study involving 779 Chinese healthy checkup participants (301 males; mean age, 47.60±16.17 years) who underwent stomach-related health examinations.

Results: Anxiety was defined as a Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) Scale score ≥14. The odds ratios, with 95% confidence intervals, were calculated using binary logistic analysis to assess the risk of anxiety and healthy checkup participants while adjusting for several covariates. In the HAM-A≥14 group (anxiety group), sex, PGII and pickled dishes were independent influencing factors. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed a significant difference in anxiety risk between the high PGII group and the low PGII group for females (P=0.005). There was also a significant difference in anxiety risk between the groups consuming pickled and non-pickled food for females (P=0.010). Logistic regression analysis indicated a higher risk of anxiety in females aged ≤50 years who belonged to the high PGII + no pickled foods group.

Conclusions: Our study revealed that in females aged ≤50 years, high levels of PGII and no pickled foods were associated with a higher risk of anxiety.