This Journal feature begins with a case vignette highlighting a common clinical problem. Evidence supporting various strategies is then presented, followed by a review of formal guidelines, when they exist. The article ends with the author's clinical recommendations.
During a routine visit, a 59-year-old woman, who describes herself as a lifetime “worrier” and has a family history of depression, reports having restless sleep, muscle tension, and fatigue. Recently, her anxiety has intensified about her children, her job, and her health, and it is having a negative effect on her family and work life. How should she be treated?
THE CLINICAL PROBLEM
Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent psychiatric conditions in the United States aside from disorders involving substance abuse.1 Generalized anxiety disorder has a lifetime prevalence of 5 percent. The criteria for diagnosis, as specified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, are summarized in Table 1TABLE 1
Diagnostic Criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
.2 The onset is usually before the age of 25 years, and the incidence in men is half that in women. Untreated, the typical course is chronic, with a low rate of remission and a moderate recurrence rate.3
Risk factors for generalized anxiety disorder include a family history of the condition, an increase in stress, and a history of physical or emotional trauma.4,5 An association has also been reported between smoking and anxiety, and the risk of generalized anxiety disorder among adolescents who smoke heavily is five to six times the risk among nonsmokers.6 Traits such as nervousness and social discomfort may predispose people to both nicotine dependence and anxiety.7 Medical illnesses are often associated with anxiety.8 For example, generalized anxiety disorder occurs in 14 percent of patients with diabetes.9