Jan. 25 (iVillage Total Health) -- Do news reports of bioterrorism threat warnings cause you anxiety and stress? According to a new study on those color-coded threat alerts, you are probably not alone in feeling more anxious when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a terror alert.

The color-coded alerts have been in effect since 2002 and were implemented following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The threat levels range from "green" for low risk to "red" indicating severe risk of a terrorist attack.

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York City found that anxiety levels rose for a group of study volunteers who were given messages of the potential for bioterrorism acts. Researchers concluded that federal authorities and public health officials should study the psychological and overall health impact to the general public when terror alerts are broadcast.

"If a public health program can induce stress and anxiety in the population, these should be considered potentially adverse effects that need evaluation," Hillel Cohen, M.D., said in a press release. Cohen was the senior author of the study, which included 116 students from both Einstein College and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology.

There were 26 men and 90 women. They randomly received one of two messages. One group received a report of a horrific bioterrorism act with graphic accounts of potential bioterrorism-related diseases. The other group received a more neutral report of a bioterrorism risk of relatively minor impact compared to other public health problems. Both groups of participants were tested before and after receiving the bioterror messages and assessed for their overall anxiety levels, tolerance for anxiety and stress and knowledge of bioterrorism.

Cohen and the other researchers found "a statistically significant increase" in anxiety levels for the group given the more graphic threat warnings. He said bioterrorism warnings are unlike other types of public health announcements -- such as those used to warn people about the dangers of smoking or drunk driving. Cohen said, "With smoking the behavior to be avoided is clear. With bioterrorism, it is not at all clear what behaviors the public is expected to avoid or adopt, or what benefits could be anticipated if behaviors were to change."

For many people, this uncertainty can lead to or heighten anxiety, a condition that affects more than 40 million Americans aged 18 years and older, according to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA). Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental illnesses in America and account for one-third of the total mental health bill in the United States, according to the National Mental Health Association.

In addition, anxiety disorders can affect all aspects of a person's overall health. For example, patients with anxiety disorders are three to five times more likely to visit a physician than those without anxiety disorders. They are also six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than individuals without anxiety disorders.

The study was published in the current issue of the International Quarterly of Community Health Education.

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