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Indicator: Lifetime Diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder (2006)


  
  • Anxiety, along with depression, is among the most prevalent mental health problems among older adults. 1 The two conditions often go hand-in-hand, with almost half of older adults who are diagnosed with a major depression also meeting the criteria for anxiety. 2
  • Late-life anxiety is not well understood, but is believed to be as common in older adults as in younger age groups (although how and when it appears is distinctly different in older adults). Anxiety in this age group may be underestimated because older adults are less likely to report psychiatric symptoms and more likely to emphasize physical complaints. 2
  • This Indicator was part of the Anxiety and Depression Module in the 2006 BRFSS, which was asked in 38 states, District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. It was assessed through the question: “Has a doctor or other healthcare provider EVER told you that you have an anxiety disorder (including acute stress disorder, anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks, panic disorder, phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, or social anxiety disorder)?”
References:
1. American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry. Geriatrics and mental health—the facts. 2008. Available at http://www.aagponline.org/prof/facts_mh.asp Link: Exit Notification/Disclaimer Policy (accessed June 23, 2008).
2. Anxiety Disorders Association of America. New thinking on anxiety and aging: Anxiety disorders common in the elderly. 2008. Available at: http://www.adaa.org/ADAA%20web%20fin/articles/aging.pdf Link: Exit Notification/Disclaimer Policy (accessed June 23, 2008).

State Data (2006)

Percentage of adults aged 50 years or older with a lifetime diagnosis of an anxiety disorder.

  Age Group
50+ 50–64 65+
Location Data % CI Data % CI Data % CI
United States 10.6 (10.3–11.0) 12.7 (12.2–13.3) 7.6 (7.2–8.0)
Alabama 12.1 (10.5–13.8) 13.8 (11.6–16.3) 9.7 (7.7–12.2)
Alaska 11.2 (8.5–14.6) 12.6 (9.3–17.0) 7.3 (4.2–12.4)
Arizona ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Arkansas 11.1 (10.0–12.4) 14.2 (12.4–16.1) 7.2 (5.9–8.7)
California 10.1 (8.8–11.7) 11.7 (9.8–14.0) 7.6 (6.0–9.7)
Colorado ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Connecticut 9.8 (8.3–11.4) 11.7 (9.6–14.3) 7.1 (5.5–9.0)
Delaware 10.3 (8.8–12.1) 13.3 (11.0–16.1) 6.4 (4.8–8.4)
District of Columbia 9.6 (8.2–11.3) 11.7 (9.7–14.0) 6.9 (5.1–9.2)
Florida 9.9 (9.0–11.0) 12.6 (11.0–14.3) 7.2 (6.2–8.4)
Georgia 12.2 (10.9–13.5) 14.1 (12.4–16.0) 9.1 (7.5–11.0)
Hawaii 8.2 (7.1–9.4) 10.5 (8.9–12.4) 4.9 (3.6–6.6)
Idaho ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Illinois ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Indiana 11.1 (9.9–12.4) 14.1 (12.4–16.1) 6.9 (5.7–8.3)
Iowa 7.9 (6.9–9.0) 9.0 (7.6–10.6) 6.4 (5.2–8.0)
Kansas 8.8 (7.6–10.1) 10.3 (8.5–12.3) 6.8 (5.5–8.5)
Kentucky ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Louisiana 10.6 (9.5–11.8) 12.2 (10.8–13.8) 8.2 (6.7–9.8)
Maine 11.7 (10.3–13.2) 13.7 (11.8–15.8) 8.9 (7.1–11.2)
Maryland 9.4 (7.9–11.1) 11.6 (9.5–14.1) 6.1 (4.5–8.2)
Massachusetts ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Michigan 9.5 (8.5–10.7) 11.3 (9.8–13.0) 6.8 (5.6–8.3)
Minnesota 9.2 (8.0–10.5) 10.0 (8.4–11.9) 8.0 (6.5–9.7)
Mississippi 12.5 (11.3–13.9) 15.2 (13.4–17.2) 8.9 (7.5–10.5)
Missouri 10.1 (8.7–11.7) 11.6 (9.6–13.9) 8.2 (6.5–10.2)
Montana 9.3 (8.2–10.5) 11.2 (9.6–12.9) 6.4 (5.2–8.0)
Nebraska 9.1 (7.7–10.8) 10.4 (8.4–12.9) 7.3 (5.6–9.6)
Nevada 12.7 (10.7–14.9) 16.3 (13.4–19.6) 7.2 (5.1–9.9)
New Hampshire 11.4 (10.2–12.7) 13.3 (11.6–15.1) 8.5 (7.0–10.4)
New Jersey ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
New Mexico 12.6 (11.3–14.1) 15.9 (14.0–18.1) 7.7 (6.2–9.5)
New York ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
North Carolina ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
North Dakota 8.6 (7.4–9.9) 10.3 (8.5–12.4) 6.5 (5.1–8.2)
Ohio ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Oklahoma 12.8 (11.7–14.1) 16.3 (14.5–18.2) 8.2 (6.9–9.7)
Oregon 11.9 (10.6–13.3) 14.2 (12.5–16.2) 8.5 (6.9–10.4)
Pennsylvania ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Rhode Island 12.8 (11.4–14.4) 15.4 (13.3–17.8) 9.6 (7.9–11.6)
South Carolina 12.3 (11.2–13.5) 15.2 (13.6–16.9) 8.3 (7.1–9.7)
South Dakota ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Tennessee 9.8 (8.4–11.4) 12.1 (10.1–14.4) 6.4 (4.7–8.5)
Texas 10.7 (9.1–12.6) 13.0 (10.6–15.8) 7.2 (5.6–9.2)
Utah 12.1 (10.5–13.8) 15.4 (13.1–18.1) 7.2 (5.6–9.2)
Vermont 11.7 (10.7–12.8) 13.4 (12.0–15.0) 9.0 (7.7–10.5)
Virginia 8.3 (7.2–9.6) 9.5 (7.9–11.3) 6.3 (5.0–8.0)
Washington 12.0 (11.1–13.1) 13.8 (12.5–15.3) 9.2 (8.0–10.6)
West Virginia 16.1 (14.5–17.8) 20.8 (18.5–23.4) 10.0 (8.2–12.1)
Wisconsin 9.2 (7.9–10.7) 11.2 (9.3–13.4) 6.5 (4.9–8.7)
Wyoming 9.9 (8.8–11.2) 11.2 (9.7–13.0) 7.8 (6.3–9.7)
Puerto Rico 17.6 (16.0–19.4) 22.1 (19.7–24.7) 11.3 (9.6–13.4)
Virgin Islands 5.5 (4.3–6.9) 6.5 (4.9–8.5) 3.3 (1.9–5.7)
Footnotes:
A confidence interval (CI) describes the level of uncertainty of an estimate and specifies the range in which the true value is likely to fall. The State of Mental Health and Aging in America online report uses a 95% level of significance, which means that 95% of the time, the true value falls within these boundaries. When comparing prevalence of variables across states or years, we recommend the use of confidence intervals. If the confidence intervals overlap, the difference is not statistically significant.
~ This state did not participate in the 2006 BRFSS Anxiety and Depression module, and does not have data for this indicator.
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