Anxiety disorders

Research has only recently begun to address the nature and treatment of anx iety in later life. Prevalence rates suggest that anxiety disorders occur m ore than twice as frequently as depression among older adults, with the hig hest rates reported for generalized anxiety disorder and phobias. However, relatively little is known about the psychopathology and treatment of these and other anxiety disorders. In this review, recent clinical advances in t his area are summarized. Particular attention is given to she prevalence an d nature of late-life anxiety and its overlap with related conditions, psyc hometric properties of assessment tools for evaluating anxiety in older adu lts, and treatment outcome literature in both Pharmacological and psychosoc ial domains. Directions for future research are provided throughout and sum marized in a final section with the goal of stimulating additional empirica l work in the area. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.