Writer's cramp: not associated with anxiety.
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.
Harrington
R C
RC
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, London, England.
Wieck
A
A
Marks
I M
IM
Marsden
C D
CD
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