Anxiety and Its Association With Depression Among Institutionalized Elderly.

The authors assessed anxiety and depression among nursing home and congregate housing residents at yearly intervals. At baseline, modified DSM-III-R criteria yielded a 3.5% prevalence rate for anxiety or panic disorders. Another 13.2% reported milder symptoms not meeting diagnostic criteria. Anxiety was strongly associated with depression and with physical health, functional disability, and cognitive status. Follow-up data yielded an overall incidence rate of 2.3% for possible anxiety disorders; the majority of these cases were among those with mild anxiety at baseline. Change in anxiety was strongly associated with depression and, less consistently, with functional disability and cognitive status. Results are interpreted as indicating the indistinguishability of anxiety from depression in this frail elderly population.