Am J Psychiatry 1985; 142:787-797
Copyright © 1985 by American Psychiatric Association
The diagnostic validity of anxiety disorders and their relationship to depressive illness
A Breier, DS Charney and GR Heninger
Several serious questions exist regarding the diagnostic classification of
anxiety disorders. The authors examine the diagnostic validity of
generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder and explore their
relationship to major depression, critically reviewing relevant
descriptive, lifetime occurrence, family and genetic, drug treatment, and
neurobiological studies. There is strong support for the diagnostic
validity of panic disorder, but few data are found to support a separate
diagnostic classification of generalized anxiety disorder. In addition,
several lines of evidence suggest that a common vulnerability may exist for
some forms of panic disorder and major depression. The implications of
these findings for diagnostic application, treatment, and future research
are discussed.
