Comorbidity in the anxiety disorders: The use of a life-chart approach

Author(s): Andrews, G.

Journal/Book: J Psychiatr Res. 1995; 29: The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, England OX5 1GB. Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd. 467-480.

Abstract: Findings of comorbidity across the anxiety and depressive disorders have implications for aetiology, diagnosis and treatment. This paper describes a method to assess one aspect of the relationship between comorbid disorders: the degree to which one illness experience is believed to be caused by the earlier experience of a different illness. The life-chart method involves the use of a semi-structured interview to document the lifetime course of disorders. The method was reliable in a sample of patients treated at a specialized treatment unit for anxiety disorders. Patients fell into three major groupings: those with one disorder only (19%); those who fulfilled criteria for two or more disorders, but with one disorder primary and other disorders secondary to it (55%); and those who fulfilled criteria for two or more independent disorders (26%).

Note: Article C Hunt, Unsw, St Vincents Hosp, Sch Psychiat, Clin Res Unit Anxiety Disorders, 299 Forbes St, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia

Keyword(s): PANIC DISORDER; DEPRESSION; DIAGNOSIS; PATTERNS; ILLNESS; EVENTS; CIDI

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