Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Sep;17(3):327-35.
doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2015.17.3/bbandelow.

Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century

Borwin Bandelow  1 , Sophie Michaelis  1
Affiliations

Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century

Borwin Bandelow et al. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2015 Sep.

Abstract
in English, Spanish, French

Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, and separation anxiety disorder, are the most prevalent mental disorders and are associated with immense health care costs and a high burden of disease. According to large population-based surveys, up to 33.7% of the population are affected by an anxiety disorder during their lifetime. Substantial underrecognition and undertreatment of these disorders have been demonstrated. There is no evidence that the prevalence rates of anxiety disorders have changed in the past years. In cross-cultural comparisons, prevalence rates are highly variable. It is more likely that this heterogeneity is due to differences in methodology than to cultural influences. Anxiety disorders follow a chronic course; however, there is a natural decrease in prevalence rates with older age. Anxiety disorders are highly comorbid with other anxiety disorders and other mental disorders.

Los trastornos de ansiedad, que incluyen el trastorno de pánico con o sin agorafobia, el trastorno de ansiedad generalizada, el trastorno de ansiedad social, las fobias específicas y el trastorno de ansiedad por separación son los trastornos mentales más prevalentes y están asociados con inmensos costos de atención de salud y una alta carga de enfermedad. De acuerdo con investigaciones basadas en grandes poblaciones, hasta un 33,7% de la población presenta un trastorno de ansiedad durante su vida. Se ha demostrado que el subdiagnóstico y el subtratamiento de estos trastornos es significativo. No existe evidencia acerca del cambío en las frecuencias de prevalencia de los trastornos de ansiedad en los últimos años. En comparaciones interculturales las frecuencias de prevalencía son altamente variables. Es más probable que esta heterogeneidad se deba a diferencias en la metodología más que a influencias culturales. Los trastornos de ansiedad siguen un curso crónico; sin embargo, hay una disminución natural en las frecuencias de prevalencia a mayor edad. Los trastornos de ansiedad son altamente comórbidos con otros trastornos ansiosos y otros trastornos mentales.

Les troubles anxieux, dont le trouble panique avec ou sans agoraphobie, le trouble anxieux généralisé, l'anxiété sociale, les phobies spécifiques et l'anxiété de séparation, sont les troubles mentaux les plus prévalents avec des coûts immenses en termes de santé et une charge élevée. D'après de grandes études basées sur la population, jusqu'à 33,7 % de la population souffre d'un trouble anxieux au cours de la vie. Ces pathologies sont manifestement sous-diagnostiquées et sous-traitées. Leur prévalence n'a pas montré de modification ces dernières années et est très variable dans les comparaisons interculturelles. Cette hétérogénéité est probablement plus due à des biais méthodologiques qu'à des influences culturelles. L'évolution des troubles anxieux est chronique mais leur prévalence diminue cependant naturellement avec l'âge. Leur comorbidité avec les autres troubles anxieux et les autres maladies mentales est très élevée.

Keywords: agoraphobia; anxiety disorder; comorbidity; epidemiology; generalized anxiety disorder; panic disorder; separation anxiety disorder; social anxiety disorder; specific phobia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Numbers of patients attending an anxiety disorders unit at the University of Goettingen, Germany over 6 months (May-Oct 1999, n=466). Primary diagnoses according to ICD-10. PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Burton R. The Anatomy of Melancholy. London, UK: 1621
    1. Kessler RC., McGonagle KA., Zhao S., et al Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States. Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1994;51(1):8–19. - PubMed
    1. Kessler RC., Petukhova M., Sampson NA., Zaslavsky AM., Wittchen HU. Twelve-month and lifetime prevalence and lifetime morbid risk of anxiety and mood disorders in the United States. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2012;21(3):169–184. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wittchen HU., Essau CA., von Zerssen D., Krieg JC., Zaudig M. Lifetime and six-month prevalence of mental disorders in the Munich Follow-Up Study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1992;241(4):247–258. - PubMed
    1. Lepine JP., Pariente P., Boulenger JP., et al Anxiety disorders in a French general psychiatric outpatient sample. Comparison between DSM-III and DSM-IIIR criteria. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 1989;24(6):301–308. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms