Anxiety and functional status in older primary care patients

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that anxiety in older primary care patients is associated with functional impairment after controlling for depression and medical comorbidity.

Primary care patients (n = 303), aged sixty or older were interviewed with a series of instruments designed to measure psychiatric symptoms including anxiety, depression, medical illness burden, and both examiner-rated and self-reported functional status. Anxiety was measured by the anxiety item of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the anxiety items of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form SF-36. Multiple regression techniques were used to examine the association of anxiety with functional status after controlling for age, gender, education, medical burden, and depression.

When controlled for depression and medical morbidity, increased anxiety predicted poorer social function. Anxiety was not independently associated with more basic activities of daily living.

Further studies with more comprehensive measures of anxiety are warranted to clarify the relationships between anxiety and functional status.