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Anxiety disorders surprisingly common yet often untreated
March 13, 2007New screening tools makes it easier for physicians to diagnose
INDIANAPOLIS — A new study by researchers led by Kurt Kroenke, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. reports that nearly 20 percent of patients seen by primary care physicians have at least one anxiety disorder. The study outlines the effectiveness of a new screening tool which can alert busy primary care physicians to those patients with one or more anxiety disorders. The study is published in the March 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The GAD-7, a seven-question, self-administered screening tool, identifies patients with undiagnosed generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder or social anxiety disorder. The new study, which looked at 965 patients in 15 primary care clinics, found anxiety to be as prevalent as depression, and much more common than previously thought, in patients who were visiting a physician for a physical problem or illness.
"Anxiety often manifests as a physical symptom like pain, fatigue, or inability to sleep, so it is not surprising that one out of five patients who come to a doctor's office with a physical complaint have anxiety," said Dr. Kroenke, I.U. School of Medicine professor of medicine and Regenstrief Institute, Inc. research scientist. Dr. Kroenke, an internist, is an internationally recognized researcher who studies physical symptoms, especially pain, and their links to mental disorders including anxiety and depression.
Dr. Kroenke and colleagues found that even administering the first two questions of the GAD-7 flagged those patients with possible anxiety disorders for physician follow-up. These questions ask the patient if he or she has felt nervous or has been unable to stop or control worrying over the previous two weeks. Bringing this information to the physician's attention is important because the doctor may be focused on the patient's physical complaints and unless prompted by the patient or test results is unlikely to assess the patient's mental status.
"Doctors like to quantify things. We can objectively measure blood pressure, blood sugar or cholesterol, but symptoms of anxiety can be missed in a busy primary care practice. The seven-question GAD-7 and remarkably even the two-question "ultra brief" version gives the physician a tool to quantify the patient's symptoms - sort of a lab test for anxiety," he said.
Patients with anxiety have worse functional status, more disability days and more physician visits than patients without mental illness. Untreated anxiety disorders can be disabling.
Indiana University
"Anxiety often manifests as a physical symptom like pain, fatigue, or inability to sleep, so it is not surprising that one out of five patients who come to a doctor's office with a physical complaint have anxiety," said Dr. Kroenke, I.U. School of Medicine professor of medicine and Regenstrief Institute, Inc. research scientist. Dr. Kroenke, an internist, is an internationally recognized researcher who studies physical symptoms, especially pain, and their links to mental disorders including anxiety and depression.
Dr. Kroenke and colleagues found that even administering the first two questions of the GAD-7 flagged those patients with possible anxiety disorders for physician follow-up. These questions ask the patient if he or she has felt nervous or has been unable to stop or control worrying over the previous two weeks. Bringing this information to the physician's attention is important because the doctor may be focused on the patient's physical complaints and unless prompted by the patient or test results is unlikely to assess the patient's mental status.
"Doctors like to quantify things. We can objectively measure blood pressure, blood sugar or cholesterol, but symptoms of anxiety can be missed in a busy primary care practice. The seven-question GAD-7 and remarkably even the two-question "ultra brief" version gives the physician a tool to quantify the patient's symptoms - sort of a lab test for anxiety," he said.
Patients with anxiety have worse functional status, more disability days and more physician visits than patients without mental illness. Untreated anxiety disorders can be disabling.
Indiana University
Anxiety Disorder Current Events and Anxiety Disorder News RSSFamily history predicts presence and course of psychiatric disorders
A family history of depression, anxiety, alcohol dependence or drug dependence is associated with the presence of each condition and also may predict its course and prognosis.
To predict the severity of mental disease, consider the family
We've all been asked at routine visits to the doctor to record our family's history with medical problems like cancer, diabetes or heart disease. But when it comes to mental disorders, usually mum's the word.
Postpartum anxiety delays puberty in offspring
Hormonal changes early in pregnancy cause maternal postpartum anxiety and behavior changes that can lead to a delayed onset of puberty in both birth and adoptive daughters, according to a new study conducted in mice.
Hopkins study: When adult patients have anxiety disorder, their children need help too
In what is believed to be the first U.S. study designed to prevent anxiety disorders in the children of anxious parents, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center have found that a family-based program reduced symptoms and the risk of developing an anxiety disorder among these children.
Medication may provide some benefit for older adults with anxiety disorder
Preliminary research suggests that use of the drug escitalopram provided some improvement in symptoms for older adults with generalized anxiety disorder, although the overall benefits were diminished because of nonadherence to the drug by some patients.
Anxious older adults may benefit from antidepressants
Many older adults worry - a lot. Almost one in 10 Americans over age 60 suffer from an anxiety disorder that causes them to worry excessively about normal things - like health, finances, disability and family.
Expectant brains help predict anxiety treatment success
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Childhood anxiety disorders can and should be treated, according to UT Southwestern national expert
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Siblings of mentally disabled face own lifelong challenges, according to researchers
People who have a sibling with a mental illness are more likely to suffer episodes of depression at some point in their lives, say researchers who analyzed four decades of data.
Stress-related disorders affect brain's processing of memory
Researchers using functional MRI (fMRI) have determined that the circuitry in the area of the brain responsible for suppressing memory is dysfunctional in patients suffering from stress-related psychiatric disorders. Results of the study will be presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
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