Anxiety Disorders Linked to Other Diseases

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Having an anxiety disorder may mean you will also have physical conditions like thyroid disease, respiratory disease, arthritis or migraine headaches.

Researchers from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, say anxiety disorders seem to be linked to physical problems. Having both may significantly increase the risk of disability and negatively affect your quality of life.

Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, agoraphobia (irrational fear of going out in public places where escape may be difficult or impossible), social phobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Previous research shows people with phobic anxiety are more at risk for sudden cardiac death, and rates of anxiety disorders are higher than expected in patients with thyroid disease, cancer, hypertension or other conditions.

This new study looked further into the link between anxiety disorders and physical conditions.

Results show, among the 1,913 men and 2,268 women in the study, 8.4 percent had an anxiety disorder within the past month and 60.8 percent had a physical illness within the same time frame. The research shows having an anxiety disorder was linked to having any type of physical condition, especially respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, arthritis, allergies, thyroid diseases and migraine headaches. Most patients who had both an anxiety disorder and a physical illness developed the anxiety disorder first. Patients who had both problems were more likely to have one or more days of disability than those with physical illnesses alone.

The authors conclude, "During the last decade, efforts have been substantially increased to improve recognition and treatment of depression in general practice. Similar efforts should be strongly considered for anxiety disorders."

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SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2006;166:2109-2116