 |
 |

Disability and Poor Quality of Life Associated With Comorbid Anxiety Disorders and Physical Conditions
Jitender Sareen, BSc, MD, FRCPC;
Frank Jacobi, PhD;
Brian J. Cox, PhD;
Shay-Lee Belik, BSc(Hons);
Ian Clara, MA;
Murray B. Stein, MD, MPH
Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:2109-2116.
Background Evidence has been emerging that anxiety disorders are associated with several physical health conditions. We used the first community survey, which assessed physical conditions based on physician assessment and included standardized diagnostic assessment of mental disorders by trained health professionals, to examine the relationship between anxiety disorders and physical conditions.
Methods The German Health Survey (N = 4181; response rate, 87.6%; ages 18-65 years) used the Composite International Diagnostic Interview to assess Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition mood, substance use, and anxiety disorders (panic disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder) and a standardized medical interview supplemented by laboratory data to assess a broad range of physical conditions. The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to measure health-related quality of life. Number of days of role impairment was used to measure past 30-day disability.
Results After adjusting for sociodemographic factors and other common mental disorders, the presence of an anxiety disorder was significantly associated with thyroid disease, respiratory disease, gastrointestinal disease, arthritis, migraine headaches, and allergic conditions (adjusted odds ratios between 1.39 and 2.12; P<.05). Compared with physical disorders alone, the presence of comorbid anxiety disorder with 1 or more physical disorders was associated with poorer physical component scores on the SF-36 (adjusted mean scores for physical condition alone and physical condition with anxiety disorder, 48.50 and 45.86, respectively; P<.001) and past 30-day disability due to physical problems (adjusted odds ratio, 1.69; 95% confidence interval, 1.20-2.37).
Conclusion Anxiety disorders are independently associated with several physical conditions in the community, and this comorbidity is significantly associated with poor quality of life and disability.
Author Affiliations: Department of Psychiatry and Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg (Drs Sareen and Cox, Ms Belik, and Mr Clara); Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Unit: Epidemiology and Service Research, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Dr Jacobi); and Departments of Psychiatry and Family & Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego (Dr Stein).
CiteULike Connotea Delicious Digg Facebook Reddit Technorati Twitter
What's this?
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
 |
Business mergers and acquisitions and the risk of mental disorders: a population-based study
Wang et al.
Occup. Environ. Med. 2012;0:oemed-2011-100182v1-oemed-2011-100182.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Longitudinal Associations Among Peer Victimization and Physical and Mental Health Problems
Biebl et al.
J Pediatr Psychol 2011;36:868-877.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Do measures used in studies of anxiety disorders reflect activities and participation as defined in the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health?
Brutt et al.
Clin Rehabil 2011;25:659-671.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Disorder-Specific Impact of Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management Treatment for Anxiety Disorders in Primary Care
Craske et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2011;68:378-388.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Management of generalised anxiety disorder in adults: summary of NICE guidance
Kendall et al.
BMJ 2011;342:c7460-c7460.
FULL TEXT
Comorbidity and Associated Severity of Borderline Personality Disorder and Physical Health Conditions in a Nationally Representative Sample
El-Gabalawy et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2010;72:641-647.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Does multidisciplinary assessment of long-term sickness absentees result in modification of sick-listing diagnoses?
Svedberg et al.
Scand J Public Health 2010;38:657-663.
ABSTRACT
Treating Panic in a Veteran With Comorbid Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Chaison et al.
Clinical Case Studies 2010;9:191-206.
ABSTRACT
Association between migraine, anxiety and depression
Victor et al.
Cephalalgia 2010;30:567-575.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
The Effect of Exercise Training on Anxiety Symptoms Among Patients: A Systematic Review
Herring et al.
Arch Intern Med 2010;170:321-331.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Multidisciplinary investigations recognize high prevalence of co-morbidity of psychiatric and somatic diagnoses in long-term sickness absentees
Salmi et al.
Scand J Public Health 2009;37:35-42.
ABSTRACT
Impairment Associated With Sleep Problems in the Community: Relationship to Physical and Mental Health Comorbidity
Stein et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2008;70:913-919.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Psychosocial Aspects of Chronic Disease: ESRD as a Paradigmatic Illness
Cukor et al.
J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 2007;18:3042-3055.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|