Chronic Course of Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents

In a naturalistic study that assessed the lifetime psychiatric histories of 275 children ascertained independently of diagnostic or treatment-seeking behavior, 38 (14%) of the children had a history of anxiety disorder. Rates of comorbidity of depression and other psychiatric disorders were high. Life table estimates of the duration of illness indicate a more protracted time to recover than expected, because 46% would be ill for at least 8 years. Moreover, of those who recovered from their first episode of anxiety disorder, many had experienced recurrence before interview. After conducting pooled analyses, investigators performed separate analyses for children with separation disorder and overanxious disorder. Median age of onset of these conditions was surprisingly young; 10 years of age for overanxious disorder and 8 years of age for separation disorders.