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. 2024 Jan-Jun;33(1):76-80.
doi: 10.4103/ipj.ipj_77_23. Epub 2024 Jan 9.

Prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder among patients attending medicine outpatient department in a tertiary care center: A cross-sectional study

Gokoul Veloumourougane  1 , Parthasarathy Ramamurthy  1 , Pradeep Thilakan  1 , Preethy Raghuraman  2 , Joseph Vimal  3
Affiliations

Prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder among patients attending medicine outpatient department in a tertiary care center: A cross-sectional study

Gokoul Veloumourougane et al. Ind Psychiatry J. 2024 Jan-Jun.

Abstract

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder is commonly underdiagnosed and undertreated in medical settings.

Aim: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and correlates of generalized anxiety disorder among patients presenting to medicine outpatient department in a tertiary care centre.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among the patients visiting the outpatient department of General Medicine in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Sociodemographic and clinical parameters were collected using a structured pro forma. All patients were administered Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) to screen for the presence of generalized anxiety disorder. Patients who score 10 or more underwent a semi-structured evaluation using a generalized anxiety disorder module of Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders.

Results: Two hundred and fifty patients were recruited for the study. The mean age of the participants was 40.66 ± 12.8 years. More than one-fourth of them had diabetes mellitus and about one-fifth of the participants had systemic hypertension and hypothyroidism. Thirty five (14%) participants screened positive on GAD-7 scale. On detailed evaluation using SCID-I, 19 (7.6%) participants were confirmed to have a generalized anxiety disorder. Female gender was associated with the presence of GAD.

Conclusion: One in thirteen patients presenting to the medicine outpatient department were found to have generalized anxiety disorder. Female patients had a greater prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder compared to male patients.

Keywords: Common mental disorder; general medicine; generalized anxiety disorder; medical outpatients.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

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