Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior
Open Access

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: Anxiety is one of the important problems of aging. There are several tools for screening and diagnosing this disorder. Here we have compared two common instruments for screening this disorder in Iranian elderly. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Based on the results of this study, both tools with a sensitivity of 100% can be used for screening anxiety disorders in Iranian elderly. But geriatric anxiety inventory (GAI) as a more specific questionnaire with less false positive results seems to require less cost, time and human resource due to fewer cases calling for diagnostic tests. Findings: Mean age of the participants was 67.3±7.3 year old, 79.3% of whom being male and mostly married (89.8%). As for the educational status, most of them (31.5%) had finished the elementary school, only 8.7% being illiterate. Just 0.2% had full-time jobs and most of whom (74.8%) being retired. More than 97% were living with a companion. The prevalence of anxiety among participants was 21% based on GAI and 33.8% based on general health questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28). The prevalence of anxiety disorder was 2.7% based on SCID. The Pearson correlation coefficient of GAI and GHQ scores was 0.81 (P-value<0.001). Sensitivities of GHQ and GIA in comparison with SCID were 100% while their specificities were 68.6% and 80.6%, respectively. Conclusion & Significance: In this cross-sectional study, 150 apparently healthy elderly (60 years and older) people have been selected from the general population of Tehran, the capital of Iran, by convenience sampling. They were assessed using the GAI and GHQ-28, anxiety subscale, as well as the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID-II). Interviews were conducted by a trained clinical psychologist under the supervision of a psychiatrist.

Biography

E-mail: salehe.mortazavi@gmail.com