Comorbidity of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders for Older Americans in the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication

• Published in: The American journal of geriatric psychiatry 2009-09, Vol.17 (9), p.782-792
• Main Authors: King-Kallimanis, Bellinda, M.S, Gum, Amber M., Ph.D, Kohn, Robert, M.D., M.Phil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; age differences; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; depression; Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder, Major - epidemiology; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Dysthymic Disorder - diagnosis; Dysthymic Disorder - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Internal Medicine; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Residence Characteristics; Socioeconomic Factors
• ISSN: 1064-7481; 1545-7214
• DOI: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181ad4d17

Objective: To identify age differences in the 12-month and lifetime comorbidity of depressive and anxiety disorders for adults (18–64 years) compared with older adults (65 years and older) in a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling adults in the United States. Design: Cross-sectional epidemiologic study, using data from the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication public use dataset. Setting: Community-based epidemiologic survey. Participants: Representative national sample of community-dwelling adults in the United States. Measurements: The World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to assess Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition psychiatric disorders. Results: More than half of respondents with a 12-month major depressive disorder (MDD) had a comorbid anxiety disorder or dysthymia (18–64 years = 60.6%; 65 years and older = 51.8%). High rates of MDD were also found for those with anxiety disorders across both age groups, highest in the 18–64 years group for generalized anxiety disorder (28.5%) and highest in the 65 years and older group for panic disorder (36.7%). Age group did not predict 12-month diagnosis of a comorbid anxiety disorder among those with a depressive disorder in multivariate logistic regression. Onset of anxiety disorders preceded onset of depressive disorders for most older adults (77.6%). Conclusions: Depressive and anxiety disorders frequently cooccurred in this representative sample of community-dwelling adults. Older adults experienced comorbidity to a similar extent as younger adults, suggesting high rates of comorbidity across the lifespan.