Related Experiment Videos
Comorbidity of the anxiety disorders in a community-based older population in The Netherlands
A J van Balkom1, A T Beekman, E de Beurs
1Department of Psychiatry and Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Objective:
The aim of the study was to investigate patterns of comorbidity among the anxiety disorders in a community-based older population, and the relationship of these disorders with major depression, use of alcohol and benzodiazepines, cognitive impairment and chronic somatic illnesses.
Method:
The data were derived from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) study. A two-stage screening design was adopted to identify respondents with anxiety disorders.
Results:
In total, 10% of the elderly with an anxiety diagnosis suffered from two or more anxiety disorders. Major depression (13% vs. 3%), benzodiazepine use (24% vs. 11%) and chronic somatic diseases (12% vs. 7%) were significantly more prevalent in respondents with an anxiety disorder than in respondents without anxiety disorders. Heavy or excessive alcohol intake (5% vs. 4%) and cognitive impairment (11% vs. 13%) were not significantly associated with any anxiety disorder.
Conclusion:
When anxiety disorders are diagnosed, in older people there is a relatively high probability of comorbid conditions being present.