title: Health-related Quality of Life across the anxiety disorders: findings from a sample of primary care patients.
abstract: Previous studies have not compared Health-related Quality of Life (HR-QoL) across all DSM-IV anxiety disorders and comorbid conditions. We compared the effects of each anxiety disorder on HR-QoL, controlling for demographic variables, medical conditions, and comorbid Axis I disorders. Data are obtained from the Primary Care Anxiety Project (PCAP), a naturalistic, longitudinal study of anxiety disorders in 539 primary care patients. Each of the anxiety disorders was associated with worse self-reported physical and mental functioning compared to general population means. While all of the anxiety disorders were univariate predictors of specific domains of HR-QoL, only presence of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and comorbid Depressive Disorder (MDD) uniquely predicted worse functioning on both self-report and interview measures. The current study extends previous research by showing that different anxiety disorders and comorbid conditions may be associated with impairment in specific domains of HR-QoL.
authors.affiliation: Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Providence, RI 02912, USA. Courtney_Beard@brown.edu
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beard
authors.forename: Risa B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Weisberg
authors.forename: Martin B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012917:Social Adjustment; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires