ArticleThe American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry2009
The burden of late-life generalized anxiety disorder: effects on disability, health-related quality of life, and healthcare utilization.
Article in The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 247 citations in OpenAlex.
- [Long-term courses of anxiety disorders].Der Nervenarzt · 2025Pooled it
- Psychometric properties of the Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument: a systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2014Pooled it
- Systematic Review of the Clinical Application of Exposure Techniques to Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Anxiety.Clinical gerontologistPooled it
- "Caminando y socializando con Happy Older Latinos are Active (HOLA)": Results of a randomized clinical trial to promote health and prevent depression and anxiety in older Latinos.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2025Trial
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy augmentation of SSRI reduces cortisol levels in older adults with generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized clinical trial.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2016Trial
- Telephone-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Telephone-Delivered Nondirective Supportive Therapy for Rural Older Adults With Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2015Trial
- Predictors of change in quality of life in older adults with generalized anxiety disorder.International psychogeriatrics · 2015Trial
- Improving health-related quality of life in older African American and non-Latino White patients.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2015Trial
- Antidepressant medication augmented with cognitive-behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder in older adults.The American journal of psychiatry · 2013Trial
- A randomized controlled trial of telephone-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy for late-life anxiety disorders.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2012Trial
- Treatment response for late-life generalized anxiety disorder: moving beyond symptom-based measures.The Journal of nervous and mental disease · 2011Trial
- Changes in neuropsychological functioning following treatment for late-life generalised anxiety disorder.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2011Trial
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for generalized anxiety disorder in older adults: a preliminary report.Behavior therapy · 2011Trial
- Depression in Parkinson's disease: symptom improvement and residual symptoms after acute pharmacologic management.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2011Trial
- Psychometric properties and age- and gender-specific normative values of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 among older adults aged 60 years and above.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Blueprint 2: A self-directed mobile adaptive coping skills intervention to improve psychological distress symptoms among cardiorespiratory failure survivors study protocol.Contemporary clinical trials · 2026Article
- Impact of Anxiety and Anxiolytic Medication on Driving Outcomes in Older Adults: A LongROAD Study.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2026Article
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- Prevalence of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Psychiatric Outpatients (PRADO Study): A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study in Japan.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2026Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo describe the burden of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), a common anxiety disorder in older adults.
designCross-sectional.
settingLate-life depression and anxiety research clinic in Pittsburgh, PA.
participantsOne hundred sixty-four older adults with GAD and 42 healthy comparison participants with no lifetime history of psychiatric disorder were recruited from primary care and mental health settings as well as advertisements. MEASUREMENTS: Participants were evaluated with the Late Life Function and Disability Index to assess disability, the MOS 36-Item Short Form Survey Instrument to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and the Cornell Service Index to assess healthcare utilization.
resultsOlder adults with GAD were more disabled, had worse HRQOL, and had greater healthcare utilization, than nonanxious comparison participants, even in the absence of psychiatric comorbidity. After controlling for medical burden and depressive symptoms, higher severity of anxiety symptoms was associated with greater disability and poorer HRQOL in several domains. The greatest decrements in HRQOL and function were observed in measures assessing role functioning, including social function.
conclusionThis study, the largest ever of GAD in older adults, provides evidence of the significant burden of this disorder in late life. Given the high prevalence and chronicity of GAD in the elderly, these data provide a public health imperative for finding and implementing effective management strategies for this typically undiagnosed and untreated disorder.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.