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Varying temporal criteria for generalized anxiety disorder: prevalence and clinical characteristics in a young age cohort

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2006

JULES ANGST ,
ALEX GAMMA ,
O. JOSEPH BIENVENU ,
WILLIAM W. EATON ,
VLADETA AJDACIC ,
DOMINIQUE EICH  and
WULF RÖSSLER
JULES ANGST
Affiliation:
Zurich University Psychiatric Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
ALEX GAMMA
Affiliation:
Zurich University Psychiatric Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
O. JOSEPH BIENVENU
Affiliation:
School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
WILLIAM W. EATON
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
VLADETA AJDACIC
Affiliation:
Zurich University Psychiatric Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
DOMINIQUE EICH
Affiliation:
Zurich University Psychiatric Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
WULF RÖSSLER
Affiliation:
Zurich University Psychiatric Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
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Abstract

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Background. This study questions the 6-month duration criterion for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) used in DSM-III-R and DSM-IV.

Method. In adults from age 20/21 to 40/41 in the prospective Zurich Cohort Study, four groups of generalized anxiety syndromes defined by varying duration (2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months) were compared.

Results. Applying DSM-III (1979–1999) and DSM-III-R (1986–1999) criteria, there were no significant differences between the four groups in terms of family history of anxiety, work impairment, distress, treatment rates or co-morbidity with major depressive episodes (MDEs), bipolar disorder or suicide attempts. Only social impairment related to the length of episodes. The 6-month criterion of DSM-III-R and DSM-IV GAD would preclude this diagnosis in about half of the subjects treated for generalized anxiety syndromes.

Conclusions. In this epidemiological sample, the 6-month duration criterion for GAD could not be confirmed as clinically meaningful. GAD syndromes of varying duration form a continuum with comparable clinical relevance.

Type
Original Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 36 , Issue 9 , September 2006 , pp. 1283 - 1292
Copyright
2006 Cambridge University Press