Comorbidity
Anxiety Disorders are OFTEN co-morbid with other disorders, especially
- Depression – 30-40 % of cases of Anxiety Disorders also have clinical Depression (Wittchen & Jacobi. Size & burden of mental disorders in Europe. European Neuropsychopharmacology (15) 2005 p371)
- Substance Misuse – the COSMIC study (Weaver et al 2002) showed that 19% of people in Drug Treatment services and 32% of people in Alcohol Treatment services had a co-morbid severe Anxiety Disorder
- Personality Disorders – approximately 50% of cases of Anxiety Disorders have a co-morbid diagnosable Personality Disorder, most commonly Avoidant or Dependent type. (Van Velzen et al in Derksen (editor): The relationship between anxiety disorders and personality disorders. Kluwer Academic Publishers 1999)