Comorbidity of Anxiety and Depression

Abstract

The commonest disorders that present to the physician and psychiatrist are the anxiety and depressive disorders. The lifetime prevalence of all anxiety disorders is very high. It amounts to 30-35% of the population. As regards the depressive disorders, ther are so many variable types with an overall lifetime prevalence of 15-25%. We can see that depressive disorders are secondary to anxiety disorders regarding their prevalence in the population. So, we can crudely say that the commonest medical and psychiatric disorders are anxiety and depressive disorders.

Major depression occurs with generalized anxiety disorder in up to 60% of psychiatric and primary care patients.This comorbidity has been associated with greater severity of depression, poorer psychosocial functioning, and poorer treatment outcomes in psychiatric samples Not surprisingly, the potential for suicidal attempts is significantly higher among patients who have comorbid major depression and anxiety.

This work reviews recent literatures concerning the comorbidity of Generalized anxiety disorder and Major depression. Comorbidity between GAD and MOE has been the