Anxiety disorders

Research has only recently begun to address the nature and treatment of anxiety in later life. Prevalence rates suggest that anxiety disorders occur more than twice as frequently as depression among older adults, with the highest rates reported for generalized anxiety disorder and phobias. However, relatively little is known about the psychopathology and treatment of these and other anxiety disorders. In this review, recent clinical advances in this area are summarized. Particular attention is given to the prevalence and nature of late-life anxiety and its overlap with related conditions, psychometric properties of assessment tools for evaluating anxiety in older adults, and treatment outcome literature in both pharmacological and psychosocial domains. Directions for future research are provided throughout and summarized in a final section with the goal of stimulating additional empirical work in the area.