title: Writer's cramp: not associated with anxiety.
abstract: Many authors have commented on an association between writer's cramp and anxiety and some view it as a form of anxiety disorder. This study describes 22 patients with writer's cramp who were recruited from a neurology clinic. Clinical examination found little evidence of generalized anxiety or of anxiety specific to the writing situation. Additionally, the subjects' scores on the Crown-Crisp Experiential Index, which contains several anxiety subscales, did not differ significantly from those of a matched normal control group. Writer's cramp differs from the anxiety disorders in two other respects: it has a later onset (mean in the 30s) and the male preponderance is much greater than in any anxiety disorder, even social phobia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, London, England.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wieck
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Marsden
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009120:Muscle Cramp / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014956:Writing