How do we treat generalized anxiety disorder?

Abstract

Introduction. In addition to significant prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and related consequences, it seems that this disorder has not been studied sufficiently in Serbia. Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the understanding of psychopathology and the adequate treatment of patients with GAD by psychiatrists in Serbia. Methods. The study comprised 84 doctors - psychiatrists and neuropsychiatrists who were engaged in treatment of patients with GAD. Anonymous survey was used as the basic instrument, which collected information about the socio-demographic and professional data, experience in treating GAD and understanding psychopathology of GAD, as well as the first and the second choice therapy for patients with GAD. Results. The majority of psychiatrists (62.2%) indicated the symptoms of distress/tension and slightly lower percent (36.6%) designated the symptoms of worry/anxiety as the key symptoms of GAD when it was diagnosed. The results showed that almost all patients (96.5%) had been treated with benzodiazepines before coming to psychiatrists. Most psychiatrists preferred the use of SSRI/SNRI antidepressants (76.2%), usually in combination with benzodiazepines (71.4%) for the treatment of patients with GAD; however, if these doctors got GAD, the preference of benzodiazepine use would be significantly lesser (45.2%) than for the treatment of their patients. Preference for the use of SSRI/SNRI antidepressants was significantly more frequent in physicians with completed residency. Conclusion. The understanding of psychopathology and treatment practice for patients with GAD in this sample of psychiatrists in Serbia is mostly consistent with the current trends for GAD treatment.

Keywords

• generalized anxiety disorder
• treatment
• antidepressants
• psychotherapy