The economic burden of anxiety disorders in the 1990s

Background: We assess the annual economic burden of anxiety disorders in th e United States from a societal perspective. Method: Using data from the National Comorbidity Study, we applied multivar iate regression techniques to calculate the costs associated with anxiety d isorders, after adjusting for demographic characteristics and the presence of comorbid psychiatric conditions. Based on additional data, in part from a large managed care organization, we. estimated a human capital model of t he societal cost of anxiety disorders. Results: We estimated the annual cost of anxiety disorders to be approximat ely $42.3 billion in 1990 in the United States, or $1542 per sufferer. This comprises $23.0 billion (or 54% of the total cost) in nonpsychiatric medic al treatment costs, $13.3 billion (31%) in psychiatric treatment costs, $4. 1 billion (10%) in indirect workplace costs, $1.2 billion (3%) in mortality costs, and $0.8 billion (2%) in prescription pharmaceutical costs. Of the $256 in workplace costs per anxious worker, 88% is attributable to lost pro ductivity while at work as opposed to absenteeism. Posttraumatic stress dis order and panic disorder are the anxiety disorders found to have the highes t rates of service use. Other than simple phobia, all anxiety disorders ana lyzed are associated with impairment in workplace performance. Conclusion: Anxiety disorders impose a substantial cost on society, much of which may be avoidable with more widespread awareness, recognition, and ap propriate early intervention.