The clinical course and long-term management of generalized anxiety disorder.

Evidence suggests that generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has a fairly chronic course marked by significant long-term distress and comorbidity. Research has focused on short-term treatment of GAD, and long-term outcome studies after either short- or long-term treatment have been relatively neglected. The authors discuss the benefits and risks of various drug and nondrug therapies used in the long-term management of generalized anxiety disorder and suggest avenues for future research.