@article{ref1,
title="Medical conditions and depressive, anxiety, and somatic symptoms in older adults with and without generalized anxiety disorder",
journal="Aging and mental health",
year="2010",
author="Wetherell, Julie Loebach and Ayers, Catherine R. and Nuevo, Roberto and Stein, Murray B. and Ramsdell, Joe and Patterson, Thomas L.",
volume="14",
number="6",
pages="764-768",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine medical illness and anxiety, depressive, and somatic symptoms in older medical patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). <br><br>METHOD: A case-control study was designed and conducted in the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Geriatrics Clinics. A total of fifty-four older medical patients with GAD and 54 matched controls participated. MEASUREMENTS: The measurements used for this study include: Brief Symptom Inventory-18, Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule. <br><br>RESULTS: Older medical patients with GAD reported higher levels of somatic symptoms, anxiety, and depression than other older adults, as well as higher rates of diabetes and gastrointestinal conditions. In a multivariate model that included somatic symptoms, medical conditions, and depressive and anxiety symptoms, anxiety symptoms were the only significant predictors of GAD. <br><br>CONCLUSION: These results suggest first, that older medical patients with GAD do not primarily express distress as somatic symptoms; second, that anxiety symptoms in geriatric patients should not be discounted as a byproduct of medical illness or depression; and third, that older adults with diabetes and gastrointestinal conditions may benefit from screening for anxiety.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1360-7863",
doi="10.1080/13607861003713240",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607861003713240"
}