Background: There is growing recognition that the anxiety disorders are disabling disorders associated with substantial morbidity and impaired quality of life (QOL). Nevertheless, there have been few studies comparing QOL across these conditions. Sampling and Methods: 337 outpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; n = 220), panic disorder (PD; n = 53), or social anxiety disorder (SAD; n = 64) were compared using a number of assessment scales to compare objective and subjective impairment in QOL. The association of QOL with symptom severity and comorbid depression was also assessed. Results: The extent of impairment due to OCD, PD or SAD appears to be similar across the QOL scales. However, various domains are differentially affected in each of the disorders; OCD patients had more impairment in family life and activities of daily living; SAD patients had more impairment in social life and leisure activities, and PD patients were less able to avoid the use of nonprescribed drugs. QOL was lower in patients with increased symptom severity as well as in those with comorbid depression. Conclusions: While the extent of impairment appears similar across a number of different anxiety disorders, characteristic symptoms of each disorder may be associated with differential impairment of various domains of function, and may require specifically tailored interventions.

Although quality of life (QOL) issues have long been recognized in severe psychiatric disorders, they have only recently come to be considered for the anxiety disorders. Conceptual and methodological developments in the study of QOL are briefly outlined, and the overlap among measures of QOL, functional impairment, and disability is discussed. Existing empirical studies on subjective and objective QOL dimensions in each of the anxiety disorders are then reviewed. QOL has been examined in panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder but has received little attention in generalized anxiety disorder and specific phobia. Despite substantial evidence showing that the anxiety disorders are associated with impaired QOL, data are scarce concerning the impact of treatments on QOL in many of the anxiety disorders. Future research on QOL in the anxiety disorders would benefit from greater conceptual clarity and methodological consistency, the use of prospective research designs, greater attention to QOL as a treatment outcome, and consideration of QOL in the caregiver and the family as well as the patient.