Prevalence of anxiety symptoms among a sample of outpatients in an internal medicine clinic: A pilot study

摘要

Previous studies in primary care settings indicate that Axis I anxiety disorders range in prevalence from 2.1% to 14.8%. However, the prevalence of anxiety symptoms, rather than Axis I diagnoses, has undergone limited study. In a pilot study, we surveyed 88 outpatients in an internal medicine clinic and explored the prevalence of various anxiety symptoms based on four measures of anxiety and worry. Thirty percent of participants endorsed mixed anxiety features, 33% reported generalized anxiety symptoms, nearly half acknowledged obsessive-compulsive personality symptoms, and nearly a quarter identified meaningful levels of worry. Seventeen percent of participants were positive on all four study measures. These data suggest that anxiety symptoms are probably more prevalent in primary care settings than recognized. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.