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Modern epidemiology of anxiety: results of the Zurich cohort study
Author(s) -
Angst Jules
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1077(199908)14:1+<s29::aid-hup115>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - epidemiology , anxiety , cohort , cohort study , medicine , psychology , psychiatry
The Zurich cohort study investigated a general population sample of 591 males and females, enriched by risk cases, through five interviews carried out between the ages of 20 and 35. The total prevalence rate for the anxiety spectrum (consisting of panic, general anxiety disorders (GAD) and recurrent brief anxiety states (RBA)) was 22 per cent. Panic and RBA were highly associated (odds ratio 12·3). Complex panic syndromes (panic+GAD, panic+RBA) were shown to be much more severe than pure panic in terms of impairment, treatment and suicide attempt rates. Pure panic, DSM‐III GAD and RBA showed comparable validity. For the definition of GAD, a duration of two or four weeks is probably preferable to the 6‐months currently required by DSM‐IV and ICD‐10. The marked longitudinal associations and diagnostic changes between the three anxiety states support the hypothesis of an anxiety spectrum. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.