The prevalence of comorbid anxiety disorders in outpatients with schizophrenia

Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of lifetime anxiety disorders in patients with schizophrenia in Sanliurfa, Turkey, and to assess the association between comorbidity and several demographic and clinical variables. Methods. Eighty-two outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia were recruited for the study. They were assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV axis I Disorders-Clinician Version (SCID-I-CV), Anxiety Disorder Module, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF). Results. Fifty-five (67.1%) were diagnosed with at least one lifetime comorbid anxiety disorder. The most common anxiety disorder was obsessive-compulsive disorder (39.0%), followed by social phobia (13.4%). We found patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia with comorbid anxiety disorders had shorter duration of illness than those without such comorbid conditions. Atypical antipsychotics were more commonly prescribed to treat these patients. Conclusion. As comorbidity of anxiety disorders is relatively prevalent among patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, special attention to this issue should be paid when interviewing these patients.