- Title
- Threshold and subthreshold generalized anxiety disorder in later life
- Creator
- Miloyan, Beyon; Byrne, Gerard; Pachana, Nancy
- Date
- 2015
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/163415
- Identifier
- vital:12830
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2014.08.010
- Identifier
- ISBN:1064-7481
- Abstract
- Objective Symptoms and disorders of anxiety are highly prevalent among older adults; however, late-life anxiety disorders remain underdiagnosed. The objective of this study was to (1) estimate the prevalence of late-life threshold and subthreshold generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), (2) examine sociodemographic and health correlates associated with membership in these groups, (3) assess 3-year conversion rates of these groups, and (4) explore characteristics associated with 3-year conversion to GAD. Methods Using Waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions, 13,420 participants aged 55-98 years were included in this study. Results Subthreshold GAD was more highly prevalent than threshold GAD and was interposed between asymptomatic and GAD groups in terms of severity of health characteristics. Although most participants with subthreshold and threshold GAD were asymptomatic by Wave 2, differences in disability persisted. Subthreshold GAD at baseline was not a predictor of threshold GAD at follow-up. Conclusion These findings suggest that late-life GAD should be conceptualized as a dimensional rather than categorical construct. The temporal stability of anxiety-associated disability further suggests that subthreshold GAD bears clinical significance. However, the suitability and efficacy of interventions for minimizing negative sequelae in this group remain to be determined.
- Relation
- American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Vol. 23, no. 6 (2015), p. 633-641
- Rights
- © 2015 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Subject
- 1103 Clinical Sciences; 1117 Public Health and Health Services; Assessment; Diagnostic; Geriatric; Anxiety; Longitudinal; Outcomes; Subsyndromal
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