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Preschool anxiety disorders in pediatric primary care: prevalence and comorbidity

Lauren Franz1, Adrian Angold, William Copeland

  • 1Center for Developmental Epidemiology, Duke University Medical Center.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
|December 3, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Anxiety disorders like generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and social phobia are common in preschoolers. Most anxious preschoolers have only one disorder, but generalized anxiety disorder shows significant comorbidity with other conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatric Mental Health

Background:

  • Anxiety disorders are prevalent in preschool-aged children.
  • Understanding comorbidity patterns is crucial for effective intervention.
  • Preschoolers represent a critical developmental window for mental health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and social phobia in preschoolers.
  • To describe the comorbidity patterns among these anxiety disorders and other conditions in young children.

Main Methods:

  • The Duke Preschool Anxiety Study employed a screen-stratified, cross-sectional design.
  • Participants included 917 parents of children aged 2-5 years from pediatric primary care settings.
  • The Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment was used to gather data.

Main Results:

  • Generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and social phobia are common in preschool-aged children.
  • Approximately 75% of preschoolers with an anxiety disorder had only a single diagnosis.
  • Generalized anxiety disorder exhibited the highest comorbidity with separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, disruptive behavior disorders, and depression.

Conclusions:

  • Comorbidity patterns in preschoolers differ from older populations, particularly the weaker association between generalized anxiety disorder and depression.
  • These findings highlight potential opportunities for early, targeted interventions.
  • Interventions could modify the developmental trajectory of anxiety disorders in early childhood.
Abstract

Keywords:
comorbiditypediatric primary carepreschool anxiety disordersprevalence

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