This study investigates the generalizability and predictive validity of associations between gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and youth anxiety to establish their utility in community mental health decision-making. We analyzed data from youth ages 3 to 21 years in volunteer cohorts collected in Los Angeles (N = 327) and New York City (N = 102), as well as the Healthy Brain Network cohort (N = 1957). Youth GI distress was measured through items taken from the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). We examined generalizability of GI–anxiety associations across cohorts and anxiety reporters, then evaluated the performance of these models in predicting youth anxiety in holdout data. Consistent with previous work, higher levels of gastrointestinal distress were associated with more parent-reported youth anxiety behaviors in all three cohorts. Models trained on data from the Healthy Brain Network cohort predicted parent-reported and child-reported anxiety behaviors, as well as clinician-evaluated anxiety diagnoses, at above chance levels in holdout data. Models which included GI symptoms often, but not always, outperformed models based on age and sex alone in predicting youth anxiety. Based on the generalizability and predictive validity of GI–anxiety associations investigated here, GI symptoms may be an effective tool for child-facing professionals for identifying children at risk for anxiety (Preprint: https://psyarxiv.com/zgavu/).

中文翻译：

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使用胃肠道不适报告预测青少年焦虑风险：对心理健康素养和社区护理的影响

本研究调查了胃肠道 (GI) 症状与青少年焦虑之间关联的普遍性和预测有效性，以确定它们在社区心理健康决策中的效用。我们分析了在洛杉矶 (N = 327) 和纽约市 (N = 102) 以及健康大脑网络队列 (N = 1957) 收集的志愿者队列中 3 至 21 岁青年的数据。通过从父母报告的儿童行为检查表 (CBCL) 中获取的项目来衡量青少年胃肠道不适。我们检查了 GI-焦虑关联在队列和焦虑报告者之间的普遍性，然后评估了这些模型在预测留存数据中的青少年焦虑方面的表现。与之前的研究一致，在所有三个队列中，较高水平的胃肠道不适与父母报告的更多青少年焦虑行为有关。根据健康大脑网络队列的数据训练的模型预测了父母报告和儿童报告的焦虑行为，以及临床医生评估的焦虑诊断，在保持数据中高于机会水平。在预测青少年焦虑方面，包含胃肠道症状的模型通常（但并非总是）优于仅基于年龄和性别的模型。基于此处调查的胃肠道焦虑关联的普遍性和预测有效性，胃肠道症状可能是面向儿童的专业人员识别有焦虑风险的儿童的有效工具（预印本：https://psyarxiv.com/zgavu/）。但并非总是如此，在预测青少年焦虑方面，它的表现优于仅基于年龄和性别的模型。基于此处调查的胃肠道焦虑关联的普遍性和预测有效性，胃肠道症状可能是面向儿童的专业人员识别有焦虑风险的儿童的有效工具（预印本：https://psyarxiv.com/zgavu/）。但并非总是如此，在预测青少年焦虑方面，它的表现优于仅基于年龄和性别的模型。基于此处调查的胃肠道焦虑关联的普遍性和预测有效性，胃肠道症状可能是面向儿童的专业人员识别有焦虑风险的儿童的有效工具（预印本：https://psyarxiv.com/zgavu/）。