title: Comorbidity of infectious diseases and anxiety disorders in adults and its association with quality of life: a community study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Infectious diseases and anxiety disorders are common and both are associated with substantial burden to individual, families, and society. A better understanding of their association may be helpful in explicating possible etiological mechanisms related to both. The goal of the current study was to investigate the relationship between specific infectious diseases and anxiety disorders among adults in the community, and to examine whether the co-occurrence of the two is associated with poorer quality of life compared to subjects with one or neither condition.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used data from the 1998 German Mental Health survey with 4181 subjects aged 18-65. Various infectious diseases (lifetime) and health-related quality of life were assessed via self-report questionnaires and anxiety disorders (past 12-months) were diagnosed using M-CIDI interviews. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between infectious diseases and anxiety disorders; a linear model adjusted for sex was used to examine whether comorbidity of infectious diseases and anxiety disorders was associated with quality of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Whooping cough [odds ratio (OR) = 1.69, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.36-2.09], scarlet fever (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.02-1.68), and diphtheria (OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.21-2.64) were associated with increased prevalence of any anxiety disorder. Subjects with both infectious diseases and anxiety disorders reported lower levels of both mental and physical quality of life, compared with subjects with only one or neither condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Extending prior research, this study suggests a relationship between specific infectious diseases and anxiety disorders in an adult community sample. Research targeting etiological mechanisms related to the interplay between infectious diseases and anxiety disorders is warranted.
authors: Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, University of Basel , Basel , Switzerland.
authors: Cornelia
authors: C
authors: Witthauer
authors: Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, University of Basel , Basel , Switzerland.
authors: Andrew T
authors: AT
authors: Gloster
authors: Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, University of Basel , Basel , Switzerland.
authors: Andrea Hans
authors: AH
authors: Meyer
authors: Department of Psychology, Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York , New York, NY , USA ; Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University , New York, NY , USA.
authors: Renee D
authors: RD
authors: Goodwin
authors: Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, University of Basel , Basel , Switzerland.
authors: Roselind
authors: R
authors: Lieb
keywords: anxiety disorder; comorbidity; infectious diseases; quality of life; representative survey