title: Is anyone really M.A.D.?: the occurrence and course of mixed anxiety-depressive disorder in a sample of primary care patients.
abstract: We examined the occurrence and 1-year course of mixed anxiety-depressive disorder (MAD) in a sample of primary care patients. Participants are part of the Primary Care Anxiety Project, a naturalistic, longitudinal study of anxiety disorders in primary care. Participants completed a questionnaire screening for anxiety symptoms. Those screening positive were invited for an interview to diagnose MAD and DSM-IV Axis I disorders. Participants were then interviewed at 6 and 12 months postintake. Of 1634 participants completing an intake interview, four participants (0.2%) met complete DSM-IV MAD criteria. The adjusted probability of remitting from MAD in 1 year was 80%. Although this was not a prevalence study, results indicate a very low occurrence of MAD across 15 primary care settings. Further, they indicate that this diagnosis may not be stable across time and raise doubts about its utility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
authors.forename: Risa B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Weisberg
authors.forename: Kristin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Maki
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Culpepper
authors.forename: Martin B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011336:Probability; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D009626:Terminology as Topic