title: Distinguishing generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and mixed anxiety states in older treatment-seeking adults.
abstract: Eighty treatment-seeking adults age 60 or over with panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and mixed anxiety states (generalized anxiety with panic attacks, panic disorder with secondary generalized anxiety) completed a clinical assessment and battery of self report measures. Several hypotheses were tested from the domains of distinguishing symptoms, associated features, and rates of comorbidity with other disorders. Greater between- than within-group variance was found on a subset of measures suggesting that the distinction between GAD and PD is generally valid in the older adult population. Higher scores on measures of sympathetic arousal, agoraphobic avoidance, and rates of comorbid somatization disorder and alcohol dependence distinguished those with PD from those with GAD. Higher scores on measures of depression and hostility, but not trait anxiety or worry, distinguished the GAD group. Results indicate that distinguishing features of GAD and PD in older treatment-seeking adults may be fewer and slightly different from those of younger adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, Box 14, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA. jmohlman@psych.syr.edu
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mohlman
authors.forename: Marybeth
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Jesus
authors.forename: Ethan E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Gorenstein
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kleber
authors.forename: Jack M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gorman
authors.forename: Laszlo A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Papp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011594:Psychometrics; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires