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Generalized Anxiety Disorder

MedGen UID:
452363
•Concept ID:
C0270549
•
Mental or Behavioral Dysfunction
Synonyms: GAD; GAD - Generalized anxiety disorder; Generalized anxiety disorder; generalized anxiety disorder
SNOMED CT: Generalized anxiety disorder (21897009); GAD - Generalized anxiety disorder (21897009)
 
Monarch Initiative: MONDO:0001942

Definition

An anxiety disorder characterized by excessive and difficult-to-control worry about a number of life situations. The worry is accompanied by restlessness, fatigue, inability to concentrate, irritability, muscle tension, and/or sleep disturbance and lasts for at least 6 months. [from NCI]

Term Hierarchy

CClinical test,  RResearch test,  OOMIM,  GGeneReviews,  VClinVar  
  • CROGVGeneralized Anxiety Disorder

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Treatment of anxiety disorders.
Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D
Dialogues Clin Neurosci 2017 Jun;19(2):93-107. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelow. PMID: 28867934Free PMC Article
Diagnosis and management of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults.
Locke AB, Kirst N, Shultz CG
Am Fam Physician 2015 May 1;91(9):617-24. PMID: 25955736
Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of anxiety, posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Katzman MA, Bleau P, Blier P, Chokka P, Kjernisted K, Van Ameringen M; Canadian Anxiety Guidelines Initiative Group on behalf of the Anxiety Disorders Association of Canada/Association Canadienne des troubles anxieux and McGill University, Antony MM, Bouchard S, Brunet A, Flament M, Grigoriadis S, Mendlowitz S, O'Connor K, Rabheru K, Richter PM, Robichaud M, Walker JR
BMC Psychiatry 2014;14 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S1. Epub 2014 Jul 2 doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-14-S1-S1. PMID: 25081580Free PMC Article

Curated

UK NICE Clinical Guideline CG113, Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults: management

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Causal role of immune cells in generalized anxiety disorder: Mendelian randomization study.
Ma Z, Zhao M, Zhao H, Qu N
Front Immunol 2023;14:1338083. Epub 2024 Jan 9 doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1338083. PMID: 38264647Free PMC Article
Interventions for generalized anxiety disorder.
Byrne GJ
Curr Opin Psychiatry 2023 Mar 1;36(2):134-139. Epub 2022 Dec 6 doi: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000840. PMID: 36705012
Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder in Adults.
DeGeorge KC, Grover M, Streeter GS
Am Fam Physician 2022 Aug;106(2):157-164. PMID: 35977134
Psychological and pharmacological treatments for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Carl E, Witcraft SM, Kauffman BY, Gillespie EM, Becker ES, Cuijpers P, Van Ameringen M, Smits JAJ, Powers MB
Cogn Behav Ther 2020 Jan;49(1):1-21. Epub 2019 Feb 14 doi: 10.1080/16506073.2018.1560358. PMID: 30760112Free PMC Article
Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
DeMartini J, Patel G, Fancher TL
Ann Intern Med 2019 Apr 2;170(7):ITC49-ITC64. doi: 10.7326/AITC201904020. PMID: 30934083

Diagnosis

Anxiety Disorders: A Review.
Szuhany KL, Simon NM
JAMA 2022 Dec 27;328(24):2431-2445. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.22744. PMID: 36573969
Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder in Adults.
DeGeorge KC, Grover M, Streeter GS
Am Fam Physician 2022 Aug;106(2):157-164. PMID: 35977134
Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Revisited.
Showraki M, Showraki T, Brown K
Psychiatr Q 2020 Sep;91(3):905-914. doi: 10.1007/s11126-020-09747-0. PMID: 32383134
Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
DeMartini J, Patel G, Fancher TL
Ann Intern Med 2019 Apr 2;170(7):ITC49-ITC64. doi: 10.7326/AITC201904020. PMID: 30934083
Biological markers of generalized anxiety disorder.
Maron E, Nutt D
Dialogues Clin Neurosci 2017 Jun;19(2):147-158. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/dnutt. PMID: 28867939Free PMC Article

Therapy

Psychological and pharmacological treatments for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Carl E, Witcraft SM, Kauffman BY, Gillespie EM, Becker ES, Cuijpers P, Van Ameringen M, Smits JAJ, Powers MB
Cogn Behav Ther 2020 Jan;49(1):1-21. Epub 2019 Feb 14 doi: 10.1080/16506073.2018.1560358. PMID: 30760112Free PMC Article
Gepirone hydrochloride: a novel antidepressant with 5-HT1A agonistic properties.
Kaur Gill A, Bansal Y, Bhandari R, Kaur S, Kaur J, Singh R, Kuhad A, Kuhad A
Drugs Today (Barc) 2019 Jul;55(7):423-437. doi: 10.1358/dot.2019.55.7.2958474. PMID: 31347611
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for generalized anxiety disorder: Contrasting various CBT approaches in a randomized clinical trial.
Stefan S, Cristea IA, Szentagotai Tatar A, David D
J Clin Psychol 2019 Jul;75(7):1188-1202. Epub 2019 Apr 20 doi: 10.1002/jclp.22779. PMID: 31004521
Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and related disorders: A meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials.
Carpenter JK, Andrews LA, Witcraft SM, Powers MB, Smits JAJ, Hofmann SG
Depress Anxiety 2018 Jun;35(6):502-514. Epub 2018 Feb 16 doi: 10.1002/da.22728. PMID: 29451967Free PMC Article
Nutritional and herbal supplements for anxiety and anxiety-related disorders: systematic review.
Lakhan SE, Vieira KF
Nutr J 2010 Oct 7;9:42. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-9-42. PMID: 20929532Free PMC Article

Prognosis

Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Revisited.
Showraki M, Showraki T, Brown K
Psychiatr Q 2020 Sep;91(3):905-914. doi: 10.1007/s11126-020-09747-0. PMID: 32383134
Developmental risk factors in generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder.
Newman MG, Shin KE, Zuellig AR
J Affect Disord 2016 Dec;206:94-102. Epub 2016 Jul 5 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.07.008. PMID: 27466747Free PMC Article
Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation for generalized anxiety disorder: effects on anxiety and stress reactivity.
Hoge EA, Bui E, Marques L, Metcalf CA, Morris LK, Robinaugh DJ, Worthington JJ, Pollack MH, Simon NM
J Clin Psychiatry 2013 Aug;74(8):786-92. doi: 10.4088/JCP.12m08083. PMID: 23541163Free PMC Article
Anxiety and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: developmental issues and implications for DSM-V.
Beesdo K, Knappe S, Pine DS
Psychiatr Clin North Am 2009 Sep;32(3):483-524. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2009.06.002. PMID: 19716988Free PMC Article
A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7.
Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Löwe B
Arch Intern Med 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092. PMID: 16717171

Clinical prediction guides

Effectiveness of vortioxetine in patients with major depressive disorder comorbid with generalized anxiety disorder: Results of the RECONNECT study.
Christensen MC, Schmidt S, Grande I
J Psychopharmacol 2022 May;36(5):566-577. Epub 2022 May 2 doi: 10.1177/02698811221090627. PMID: 35499104Free PMC Article
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder: Signal detection and validation.
Mossman SA, Luft MJ, Schroeder HK, Varney ST, Fleck DE, Barzman DH, Gilman R, DelBello MP, Strawn JR
Ann Clin Psychiatry 2017 Nov;29(4):227-234A. PMID: 29069107Free PMC Article
Identifying HAM-A cutoffs for mild, moderate, and severe generalized anxiety disorder.
Matza LS, Morlock R, Sexton C, Malley K, Feltner D
Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 2010 Dec;19(4):223-32. Epub 2010 Aug 18 doi: 10.1002/mpr.323. PMID: 20718076Free PMC Article
Validation and standardization of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener (GAD-7) in the general population.
Löwe B, Decker O, Müller S, Brähler E, Schellberg D, Herzog W, Herzberg PY
Med Care 2008 Mar;46(3):266-74. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e318160d093. PMID: 18388841
Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC).
Connor KM, Davidson JR
Depress Anxiety 2003;18(2):76-82. doi: 10.1002/da.10113. PMID: 12964174

Recent systematic reviews

Interventions for generalized anxiety disorder.
Byrne GJ
Curr Opin Psychiatry 2023 Mar 1;36(2):134-139. Epub 2022 Dec 6 doi: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000840. PMID: 36705012
Virtual reality in the diagnostic and therapy for mental disorders: A systematic review.
Wiebe A, Kannen K, Selaskowski B, Mehren A, Thöne AK, Pramme L, Blumenthal N, Li M, Asché L, Jonas S, Bey K, Schulze M, Steffens M, Pensel MC, Guth M, Rohlfsen F, Ekhlas M, Lügering H, Fileccia H, Pakos J, Lux S, Philipsen A, Braun N
Clin Psychol Rev 2022 Dec;98:102213. Epub 2022 Oct 30 doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102213. PMID: 36356351
Medicinal herbs for the treatment of anxiety: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Zhang W, Yan Y, Wu Y, Yang H, Zhu P, Yan F, Zhao R, Tian P, Wang T, Fan Q, Su Z
Pharmacol Res 2022 May;179:106204. Epub 2022 Apr 1 doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106204. PMID: 35378276
Screening for anxiety disorders with the GAD-7 and GAD-2: a systematic review and diagnostic metaanalysis.
Plummer F, Manea L, Trepel D, McMillan D
Gen Hosp Psychiatry 2016 Mar-Apr;39:24-31. Epub 2015 Nov 18 doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2015.11.005. PMID: 26719105
The Patient Health Questionnaire Somatic, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptom Scales: a systematic review.
Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB, Löwe B
Gen Hosp Psychiatry 2010 Jul-Aug;32(4):345-59. Epub 2010 May 7 doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2010.03.006. PMID: 20633738

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    Clinical resources

    Practice guidelines

    • PubMed
      See practice and clinical guidelines in PubMed. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.
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      See practice and clinical guidelines in NCBI Bookshelf. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.

    Curated

    • NICE, 2020
      UK NICE Clinical Guideline CG113, Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults: management

    Consumer resources

    Reviews

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