TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of anxiety disorders and subthreshold anxiety throughout later life
T2 - Systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Witlox, Maartje
AU - Garnefski, Nadia
AU - Kraaij, Vivian
AU - Simou, Meropi
AU - Dusseldorp, Elise
AU - Bohlmeijer, Ernst
AU - Spinhoven, Philip
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Psychological Association
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - This systematic review and meta-analysis compared prevalence rates for subthreshold anxiety and anxiety disorders in adults aged 55+ and examined if these rates were associated with age. A systematic search and screening procedure resulted in 46 included articles. First, prevalence rates for subthreshold anxiety and anxiety disorders were statistically compared. Subthreshold panic, generalized anxiety and specific phobia were significantly more prevalent than the corresponding clinical disorders. In general, subthreshold anxiety appeared to be at least similarly prevalent to anxiety disorders, although firm conclusions are precluded due to the small number of samples that could be included in the analyses and the large heterogeneity between the reported prevalence rates. Second, using subgroup analyses, pooled prevalence rates for four age groups of older adults (55–64, 65–74, 75–84, 85+) were compared. For specific phobia, the 75–84 and 85+ groups had significantly lower prevalence rates than the 55–64 and 65–74 groups. Posttraumatic stress disorder was significantly more prevalent in the 55–64 group than in the other age groups, and lowest in the 85+ group. No other significant differences between age groups were found. The association between later life subthreshold anxiety and age could not be examined due to a lack of reported information. The main limitation of this study is the small number of samples in the analyses, which limits their power and generalizability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)
AB - This systematic review and meta-analysis compared prevalence rates for subthreshold anxiety and anxiety disorders in adults aged 55+ and examined if these rates were associated with age. A systematic search and screening procedure resulted in 46 included articles. First, prevalence rates for subthreshold anxiety and anxiety disorders were statistically compared. Subthreshold panic, generalized anxiety and specific phobia were significantly more prevalent than the corresponding clinical disorders. In general, subthreshold anxiety appeared to be at least similarly prevalent to anxiety disorders, although firm conclusions are precluded due to the small number of samples that could be included in the analyses and the large heterogeneity between the reported prevalence rates. Second, using subgroup analyses, pooled prevalence rates for four age groups of older adults (55–64, 65–74, 75–84, 85+) were compared. For specific phobia, the 75–84 and 85+ groups had significantly lower prevalence rates than the 55–64 and 65–74 groups. Posttraumatic stress disorder was significantly more prevalent in the 55–64 group than in the other age groups, and lowest in the 85+ group. No other significant differences between age groups were found. The association between later life subthreshold anxiety and age could not be examined due to a lack of reported information. The main limitation of this study is the small number of samples in the analyses, which limits their power and generalizability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)
KW - anxiety disorders
KW - meta-analysis
KW - older adults
KW - prevalence
KW - subthreshold anxiety
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103487953&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/pag0000529
DO - 10.1037/pag0000529
M3 - Article
C2 - 33180519
AN - SCOPUS:85103487953
SN - 0882-7974
VL - 36
SP - 268
EP - 287
JO - Psychology and aging
JF - Psychology and aging
IS - 2
ER -