社交恐惧症在焦虑障碍中属于最常见、功能失调最严重的障碍。尽管任何年龄都有可能发病,但平均发病年龄通常为童年晚期和青少年期。[1]Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, et al. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62:593-602.http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/208678http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15939837?tool=bestpractice.com[2]Stein MB, Stein DJ. Social anxiety disorder. Lancet. 2008 Mar 29;371(9618):1115-25.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18374843?tool=bestpractice.com[3]Cairney J, McCabe L, Veldhuizen S, et al. Epidemiology of social phobia in later life. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2007;15:224-233.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17213375?tool=bestpractice.com 在美国,社区研究发现社交恐惧症的终身患病率为5%到12%,在初级医疗机构高达7%。[1]Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, et al. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62:593-602.http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/208678http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15939837?tool=bestpractice.com[4]Grant BF, Hasin DS, Blanco C, et al. The epidemiology of social anxiety disorder in the United States: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. J Clin Psychiatry. 2005;66:1351-1361.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16420070?tool=bestpractice.com[5]Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB, et al. Anxiety disorders in primary care: prevalence, impairment, comorbidity, and detection. Ann Intern Med. 2007 Mar 6;146(5):317-25.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17339617?tool=bestpractice.com 社交焦虑在青春前期患病率为3.5%,在青春期上升至14%。[1]Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, et al. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62:593-602.http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/208678http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15939837?tool=bestpractice.com[6]Merikangas KR. Vulnerability factors for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2005;14:649-679.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16171697?tool=bestpractice.com 西方国家的社交恐惧症患病率同美国类似。[2]Stein MB, Stein DJ. Social anxiety disorder. Lancet. 2008 Mar 29;371(9618):1115-25.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18374843?tool=bestpractice.com 在欧洲,10-19岁人群发生率为0.72%。[7]Beesdo K, Bittner A, Pine DS, et al. Incidence of social anxiety disorder and the consistent risk for secondary depression in the first three decades of life. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007;64:903-912.http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/64/8/903 青春前期男女均等,在青春期及成年期,女性更常见。大约70%到80%的社交恐惧症患者同时存在焦虑障碍、心境障碍以及物质依赖障碍。[8]Fehm L, Wittchen HU. Comorbidity in social anxiety disorder. In: Bandelow B, Stein DJ, eds. Social anxiety disorder. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker; 2004:49-63. 社交焦虑在亚洲和东方文化中存在文化差异,可能包含担心冒犯他人或者使他人不适产生的恐惧。应谨慎评估焦虑临床表现的跨文化差异。[9]Carter MM, Mitchell FE, Sbrocco T. Treating ethnic minority adults with anxiety disorders: current status and future recommendations. J Anxiety Disord. 2012;26:488-501.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3913267/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22417877?tool=bestpractice.com