Generalized anxiety disorder in the elderly

The thought of growing older is anxiety provoking because of associated los s of health, financial security relationships, and mental faculties. As wit h depression in the elderly geriatric anxiety is commonly disguised and pre sents with varied symptoms, especially physical ones. Geriatric anxiety dis orders most commonly begin in early adulthood, tend to be chronic and inter spersed with remissions and relapses of varying degrees, and usually contin ue into old age. This article outlines the clinical, diagnostic, and therap eutic issues that are pertinent to generalized anxiety disorder in geriatri c patients, including clinical features, epidemiology, neurobiology, and no npharmacologic and pharmacologic therapies.