title: [Generalized anxiety disorder: recognizing it and understanding its impact on the cognitive functioning].
abstract: Since the appearance of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in the 1980 version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the definition and the comprehension of this disorder have largely evolved. The present article is an overview of the principal aspects of GAD in the literature such as the history, the prevalence, the socioeconomic characteristics, the comorbidity, the differential diagnosis and its evolution, while considering the litigious questions concerning its classification. This article also presents a report of the recent studies about the cognitive profile of patients, from a perspective of cognitive experimental psychology and neuropsychology. The consequences on cognitive functioning are discussed in the second part of the article, as well as precautions relatively to functioning clinicians have to consider.
authors.affiliation: UQTR Psychologue, CRESS de Drummondville, Québec.
authors.forename: Josée
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blondeau
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouvette
mesh_terms: D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors