Generalized anxiety and mixed anxiety-depression: Association with disability and health care utilization

Generalized anxiety and mixed anxiety-depression have received less attention than the major mood and anxiety disorders with respect to their possible effects in increasing disability and health care utilization. A review of recent studies, however, indicates that these conditions are prevalent in primary care medical settings and are associated with significant social and occupational disability. Generalized anxiety disorder is also one of the most common diagnoses seen in patients presenting with medically unexplained somatic complaints such as chest pain, irritable bowel symptoms, and hyperventilation and in patients prone to overutilize health care services in general. It is poorly recognized by primary care physicians, possibly due to its chronicity, which may limit the ability of symptoms to ''stand out'' and be easily detected. However, it is disproportionately present in ''high utilizer'' samples found to be particularly ''frustrating'' to their physicians and is accompanied by a high rate of personality disorders, suggesting that maladaptive personality traits and styles of interaction in such patients may also contribute to underrecognition of symptoms by primary care physicians. These preliminary associations between generalized anxiety disorder/mixed anxiety-depression and both disability and increased health care utilization need to be confirmed with carefully designed and controlled studies.