[Somatic conditions in patients suffering from anxiety disorders].
OBJECTIVE
Several studies have shown a higher prevalence of somatic illnesses in patients with anxiety disorders, especially cardiopathy, pneumopathy, digestive diseases and cephalea. The aim of this study was to investigate the comorbidity between anxiety disorders and medical illnesses in a group of patients with anxiety disorders compared with patients without psychiatric disorder attended at a primary care clinic and with psychiatric patients without anxiety pathology.


METHODS
Retrospective case-control study comparing 3 groups of patients paired by age and sex. The group of patients with anxiety disorders included 130 patients diagnosed by DSM-IV as panic disorders with/without agoraphobia and agoraphobia without panic attacks. There were 2 control groups: 150 patients without psychiatric disorder attended at primary care and 130 psychiatric patients without anxiety disorder attended at a psychiatric service.


RESULTS
Patients with anxiety disorders showed higher risk of medical illnesses than patient without anxiety. Multivariate statistical logistic regression analysis showed that patients with anxiety presented 4.2-fold increase in the risk of cephalea, 3.9 of cardiopathy, 3.8 of osteomuscular disorder and 2-fold increase in the risk of digestive diseases.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with anxiety disorders presented higher risk of somatic illness. Similar physiopathology and genetic etiology could explain this association.
Pascual
Juan Carlos
JC
Instituto de Atención Psiquiátrica, IAPS, Hospital del Mar, Departamento de Psiquiatría, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.
Castaño
Juan
J
Espluga
Nuria
N
Díaz
Belén
B
García-Ribera
Carlos
C
Bulbena
Antonio
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004066:Digestive System Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors