ANXIETY DISORDERS
American Psychological Association
Table of Contents
Why Practitioners Need Information
- Population-based surveys have found that about 6 percent of older people have anxiety disorders. Because anxiety disorders often coexist with affective disorders, medical disorders, and dementia, this rate may actually be higher.
- The most common anxiety diagnosis among older adults is generalized anxiety disorder.
- A number of medical conditions are often mistaken for generalized anxiety disorder because anxiety and shortness of breath may be prominent early symptoms.
- Obsessive-compulsive symptoms wax and wane throughout the life course and can present as a primary problem or secondary to depression.
- Panic disorder rarely has a later-life onset, and, among those who developed it earlier, the symptoms usually recede by late adulthood. Some older adults report episodes of panic, but these are usually less severe and may coexist with physical illness or symptoms of depression.
- Phobic disorders affect some older adults but are more common earlier in life.
- Posttraumatic stress disorder can occur at any age and is a common symptom among older combat veterans and former prisoners of war.
