title: Generalized Anxiety Disorder and major depressive disorder comorbidity in the National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being.
abstract: We report population data on DSM-IV Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being, obtained from a nationwide household survey of adults using a stratified multistage sampling process. A response rate of 78.1% resulted in 10,641 persons being interviewed. Diagnoses were made using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The interview was computerised and conducted by trained lay interviewers. We investigated comorbidity between GAD and major depressive disorder (MDD). The results indicate that sociodemographic correlates of GAD, and associated disablement and service use, are influenced by the presence of a comorbid depressive disorder but cannot be fully explained by the presence of that disorder. In addition, GAD was confirmed as significantly disabling, even as a single disorder. We conclude that the results are consistent with the view that GAD has a significant and independent impact on the burden of mental disorders.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. caroline@psych.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Slade
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andrews
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile