The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Mar 2008
Comorbid depression and anxiety in later life: patterns of association, subjective well-being, and impairment.
Very little epidemiological work has examined comorbidity between depression and anxiety disorders in community-dwelling older adults, despite the fact these disorders are known to co-occur in younger adults and that this co-occurrence is associated with greater clinical severity. In this study, the authors examine psychiatric comorbidity and associated impairment of four disorders (major depression, panic disorder, social phobia, and agoraphobia) in a community-based sample of adults aged 55 and older. ⋯ Although comorbidity between physical health conditions and depression, and between dementias and depression, are well documented among older adults, these results suggest that comorbid depression and anxiety are also prevalent in later life. The significant impact of comorbidity on function and well-being underlines the need to screen for comorbid disorders in this population.