Generalized anxiety disorder in the elderly

The thought of growing older is anxiety provoking because of associated loss of health, financial security relationships, and mental faculties. As with depression in the elderly geriatric anxiety is commonly disguised and presents with varied symptoms, especially physical ones. Geriatric anxiety disorders most commonly begin in early adulthood, tend to be chronic and interspersed with remissions and relapses of varying degrees, and usually continue into old age. This article outlines the clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic issues that are pertinent to generalized anxiety disorder in geriatric patients, including clinical features, epidemiology, neurobiology, and nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapies.