title: A review of the epidemiology and approaches to the treatment of social anxiety disorder.
abstract: This review presents current literature on the epidemiology and treatment of social anxiety disorder (social phobia). This illness has been demonstrated to be the most common anxiety disorder with a 1-year prevalence of 7 to 8% and a lifetime prevalence of 13 to 14% in patients aged between 15 and 54 years. Social anxiety disorder can be classified into 2 subtypes, discrete and generalised. Morbidity is high with this disorder, and 70 to 80% of patients have co-morbid mental disorders. Although effective treatments are available, social anxiety disorder is under-recognised and under-treated. Treatments that have been systemically studied and have shown efficacy in patients with social anxiety disorder include pharmacotherapy (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, reversible inhibitors of monoamine-A and benzodiazepines) and short term psychotherapies (cognitive behaviour therapy, social skills training and exposure in vivo therapy). Beta-blockers are useful in treating performance-related anxiety. Few published data are available on the treatment of social anxiety disorder with a combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. We conclude this review by discussing proposed algorithms for treating both subtypes of social anxiety disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0985, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sareen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D011613:Psychotherapy
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D000928:Antidepressive Agents