Although depression has long been linked to physical illness, evidence supporting an association between anxiety disorders and physical health problems is more recent. Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, agoraphobia (fear of being in a situation where panic or anxiety might occur and escape from the situation might be difficult), social phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Studies have found that those with phobic (fearful) anxiety might be more likely to experience sudden cardiac death, and rates of anxiety disorders are higher than expected in patients with thyroid disease, cancer, hypertension and several other conditions.
Dr. Jitender Sareen and his colleagues in the department of psychiatry studied the association between anxiety disorders and physical conditions in 4,181 adults who were part of the German Health Survey (GHS) conducted between 1997 and 1999. The survey assessed whether participants had any physical illnesses through a questionnaire asking about 44 particular conditions, a medical interview conducted by a primary care physician, blood pressure measurements and blood and urine samples. Psychiatric interviews were conducted by a psychologist or physician, who used criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) to detect anxiety disorders. A calibre of life survey—which measured factors such as physical functioning, pain and general health—was also administered, and to determine disability levels participants reported how many days of the past 30 they were unable to perform their usual regular activities.
Among the 1,913 men and 2,268 women in the study, 429 (8.4 per cent) had an anxiety disorder within the past month and 2,610 (60.8 per cent) had a physical condition within the past month. Having an anxiety disorder was associated with having any type of physical condition, and specifically with respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, arthritis, allergies, thyroid diseases and migraine headaches. Most individuals with both an anxiety disorder and physical illness developed the anxiety disorder first, and tended to have a poorer calibre of life than those with anxiety disorders or physical conditions alone. Those who had both types of disorders also were more likely to have one or more days of disability than those with physical illnesses alone.
“The mechanisms of association between anxiety disorders and physical conditions remain unknown, even though several possibilities should be considered,” Sareen notes. For example, the presence of an illness might cause worry and anxiety that eventually becomes serious enough to remember as an anxiety disorder, the presence of an anxiety disorders could trigger biological processes that contribute to illness or a third condition, such as a substance abuse disorder, could be linked to both.
Sareen explains: “These findings extend previous work in clinical and community samples that noted an association between anxiety disorders and physical illnesses but also demonstrate the one-of-a-kind association of this comorbidity with poor calibre of life and disability. Even though there have been increased efforts to recognize and treat depression in the medically ill, our findings underscore the need to create similar programs to recognize and treat anxiety disorders in the medically ill.”
This research was supported by a Manitoba Health Research Council Award, by a U.S. National Institutes of Health allow and a Canada Research Chair award.
For more information, please contact: Dr. Jitender Sareen, psychiatry, 204-787-7078.
For more information, contact: Chris Rutkowski, Media Relations Coordinator, Public Affairs
rutkows@ms.umanitoba.ca, Phone: (204) 474-9514, Fax: (204) 474-7631
Trent Consultants Psychology Clinic. Dedicated to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. Trent Consultants has a variety of programs for parents who want to give their kids a headstart in life. Trent Consultants website www.trentconsultants.org Email: childcare@trentconsultants.org
Trent Consultants Psychology Clinic. Dedicated to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. Trent Consultants has a variety of programs for parents who want to give their kids a headstart in life. Trent Consultants website www.trentconsultants.org Email: childcare@trentconsultants.org