Sébastien Grenier1,2, Frédérique Desjardins1,2, Béatrice Raymond1,2, Marie-Christine Payette1,3, Marie-Ève Rioux1,3, Philippe Landreville4, Patrick Gosselin5, Marie-Josée Richer6, Bruno Gunther1,2, Mélanie Fournel1, Helen-Maria Vasiliadis7. 1. Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 2. Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada. 3. Département de psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 4. École de psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec, Quebec, Canada. 5. Département de psychologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. 6. Département de psychoéducation, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 7. Département des sciences de la santé communautaire, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the 6-month prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in primary care patients aged 70 years and above and to describe their clinical profile, including types of worries. METHODS/ DESIGN: Participants (N = 1193) came from the Étude sur la Santé des Aînés (ESA) services study conducted in Quebec, Canada. An in-person structured interview was used to identify GAD and other anxiety/depressive disorders as well as to identify types of worries. Three groups were created (ie, patients with GAD, patients with another anxiety disorder, and patients without anxiety disorders) and compared on several sociodemographic and clinical characteristics using multinomial logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: The 6-month prevalence of GAD was 2.7%. Findings also indicated that the most common types of worries were about health, being a burden for loved ones, and losing autonomy. Compared with respondents without anxiety disorders, older patients with GAD were more likely to be women, be more educated, suffer from depression, use antidepressants, be unsatisfied with their lives, and use health services. In comparison with respondents with another anxiety disorder, those with GAD were 4.5 times more likely to suffer from minor depression. CONCLUSIONS: GAD has a high prevalence in primary care patients aged 70 years and above. Clinicians working in primary care settings should screen for GAD, since it remains underdiagnosed. In addition, it may be associated with depression and life dissatisfaction. Screening tools for late-life GAD should include worry themes that are specific to aging.
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the 6-month prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in primary care patients aged 70 years and above and to describe their clinical profile, including types of worries. METHODS/ DESIGN:Participants (N = 1193) came from the Étude sur la Santé des Aînés (ESA) services study conducted in Quebec, Canada. An in-person structured interview was used to identify GAD and other anxiety/depressive disorders as well as to identify types of worries. Three groups were created (ie, patients with GAD, patients with another anxiety disorder, and patients without anxiety disorders) and compared on several sociodemographic and clinical characteristics using multinomial logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: The 6-month prevalence of GAD was 2.7%. Findings also indicated that the most common types of worries were about health, being a burden for loved ones, and losing autonomy. Compared with respondents without anxiety disorders, older patients with GAD were more likely to be women, be more educated, suffer from depression, use antidepressants, be unsatisfied with their lives, and use health services. In comparison with respondents with another anxiety disorder, those with GAD were 4.5 times more likely to suffer from minor depression. CONCLUSIONS: GAD has a high prevalence in primary care patients aged 70 years and above. Clinicians working in primary care settings should screen for GAD, since it remains underdiagnosed. In addition, it may be associated with depression and life dissatisfaction. Screening tools for late-life GAD should include worry themes that are specific to aging.
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