Anxiety levels in Malta shoot up in the run-up to a general election, according to psychiatrist Anton Grech, who has seen 10 per cent of his clients relapsing in the past two weeks.

Dr Grech said the rate at which anxiolytics – anti-anxiety drugs - are prescribed also increases ahead of an election.

Since the campaign kicked off at the start of the year, Dr Grech has been seeing at least one patient a day relapsing and seeking treatment for anxiety blamed on the election.

A study by cardiologist Mark Sammut also showed that hospital admissions for heart attacks and angina were higher in the weeks before and after the 2008 election.

Dr Grech’s advice during the long campaign is to seek to control the symptoms of anxiety before popping a pill.

Read full story in The Sunday Times.