title: Geriatric anxiety inventory: factor structure and associations with cognitive status.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The factor structure and clinical correlates of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory were determined within a sample of patients with cognitive impairment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected within an outpatient Memory Disorders Center. Clinical participants were diagnosed with either mild dementia (N = 45) or cognitive impairment, no dementia (N = 55). A comparison group of participants without subjective memory complaints (N = 50) was also included. The Geriatric Anxiety Inventory was administered and scored as both the 20-item version and 5-item short form. Measures of cognitive status, depressive symptoms, and functioning were also completed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical participants reported more severe anxiety than did participants in the comparison group; however, the two patient groups did not differ. Principal components analysis revealed a four-factor structure of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory. Item endorsement on factors characterized by excessive worry and difficulty making decisions were associated with a nearly twofold (odds ratio [OR]: 1.86) and nearly sixfold (OR: 5.70) odds of having cognitive impairment, respectively. The short-form version was composed of a single factor, and item endorsement was associated with a twofold increased odds of having cognitive impairment (OR: 2.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psychometric properties of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory are acceptable among patients with cognitive impairment. Anxiety symptoms were common, and symptoms characterized by excessive worry and difficulty making decisions demonstrated the strongest associations with cognitive status.
authors: Anxiety Disorders Center, The Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Electronic address: gdiefen@harthosp.org.
authors: Gretchen J
authors: GJ
authors: Diefenbach
authors: Anxiety Disorders Center, The Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT.
authors: Laura B
authors: LB
authors: Bragdon
authors: Memory Disorders Center, The Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT; University of Connecticut Health Science Center, Farmington, CT.
authors: Karen
authors: K
authors: Blank
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*
keywords: Anxiety; cognitive impairment; dementia