Human and economic burden of generalized anxiety disorder

Abstract

The goal of the current work is to provide a comprehensive review and interpretation of the literature on the human and economic burden of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and how it compares with that of other mental disorders. The term “human burden” is used to describe quantified impairments in role functioning and quality of life (QOL). “Economic burden” describes costs related to health care resource utilization and lost work. A review of 34 studies reporting original quantitative data on associations between GAD and role functioning, QOL, and/or economic costs was undertaken. GAD was defined by DMS‐III‐R, DSM‐IV, or ICD‐10 DCR. Persons with GAD (both with and without a comorbid mental disorder) described significant impairments due to both physical and emotional problems. Studies typically showed that role and QOL impairments of GAD were at least comparable in magnitude to those of other anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, and physical conditions, and greater than those of substance use disorders. Large representative studies showed that role impairments of pure GAD were similar in magnitude to those of pure MDD. Studies of DSM‐IV disorders showed that QOL impairments of GAD were at least comparable in magnitude to those of MDD; studies of DSM‐III‐R disorders showed the opposite pattern. GAD was associated with considerable economic costs owing to lost work productivity and high medical resource use. Quality of care initiatives that have been implemented to increase recognition and improve treatment outcomes for persons with MDD should be extended to the effective management of GAD. Depression Anxiety 0:1–19, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

The burden of generalized anxiety disorder in Canada

“…3,7,16,30 It also demonstrates poorer health-related outcomes among those affected by comorbid GAD and MDE, as well as the considerable limitations in daily life associated with those disorders as evidenced by a high level of disability. These findings support the results of other studies on comorbid anxiety and depression.…”

“…The sociodemographic characteristics we studied included sex (women, men); age (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)30-49, 50+ years and mean age); marital status (single, divorced/separated/ widowed, married/common law); respondent's highest level of education (less than secondary, secondary graduate, some post-secondary, post-secondary graduate); adjusted household income quintiles; employment status in the previous week (student, did not work including permanently disabled and elderly, worked); immigrant status (yes, no); Aboriginal status (yes, no); and geography (urban, rural).…”

Risco de suicídio e comorbidades psiquiátricas no transtorno de ansiedade generalizada

“…A comorbidade pode afetar o funcionamento social e a qualidade de vida das pessoas acometidas. Uma metanálise comprovou que o prejuízo social de indivíduos acometidos por transtornos de humor e TAG foi maior do que nos que apresentavam apenas este transtorno ansioso 22 . Torna-se imprescindível, portanto, investigar comorbidades psiquiátricas ao diagnosticá-lo.…”

Separating generalized anxiety disorder from major depression using clinical, hormonal, and structural MRI data: A multimodal machine learning study

“…Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is among the most prevalent anxiety disorders in the general population (Beesdo, Pine, Lieb, & Wittchen, 2010; Kessler, Petukhova, Sampson, Zaslavsky, & Wittchen, 2012) and associated with considerable burden for the individual and the society (Andlin‐Sobocki & Wittchen, 2005; Hoffman, Dukes, & Wittchen, 2008). Concurrent comorbidity with major depression (MD) is high (Kessler, Chiu, Demler, Merikangas, & Walters, 2005) and typically between 40% and 60% (Carter, Wittchen, Pfister, & Kessler, 2001; Hunt, Issakidis, & Andrews, 2002).…”