Anxiety disorders in older adults

Prevalence of anxiety disorders is high in the elderly (between 3.2 and 14.2% of the subjects) with, by order of frequency, phobic disorders and generalized anxiety disorder rank ahead of panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. Anxiety disorders very often start in adulthood and become chronic thereafter. It should be pointed out that each anxiety disorder has clinical characteristics that are modified with aging. Among the psychiatric comorbidity, depressive disorders and addictions, mainly to alcohol, especially stand out. Very few studies on anxiety disorders were specifically performed in the elderly. Drug treatments are mainly based on antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) and there is little consensus over the duration of the treatment. On the other hand, non-pharmacological treatments are proposed, such as supportive psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioural therapies, with specific programs to improve anxiety disorders in the elderly.