Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
Define anxiety?
According to NICE:
‘Excessive worry about a number of different events associated with heightened tension’
What are neuroses?
Disorders related to stress e.g. panic disorder, GAD, OCD.
Patient is not completely out of touch with reality
Neuroses vs psychoses?
- Neuroses: Insight maintained; Psychoses: Insight not
- Neuroses: understandable and with which one can empathize with; Psychoses: delusions not understandable and cannot be empathized with
What is the lifetime prevalence of GAD?
9% in the US
What’s the prevalence of GAD?
What countries more common? Male or female ? When in life?
- More common in higher income countries than lower
- Affects females more than males
- Usually starts in adulthood and persists over time
Presentation of GAD?
- Persistent nervousness
- Fear
- Worry
- Poor conc
- Insomnia
- Trembling
- Muscle tension/ jaw clenching
- Sweating
- Lightheadness
- Dizziness
- Palpitations/ chest pain
- Epigastric pain/ irritable bowels
- Tension headache
- Dry mouth
- Butterflies
- Nausea
GAD risk factors?
- Family history
- Female
- Chronic physical health problem
- increased stress
- physical/ emotional trauma
- substance misuse
ICD-10 criteria for GAD diagnosis?
- Marked symptoms of anxiety manifested by excessive worry that in not restricted to any paritcular environment or about negative events occuring in lots of aspects of everyday life
- Anxiety and general apprehensiveness or worry accompanied by additional symptoms, such as: muscle tension or motor restlessness; sympathetic autonomic overactivity (for example, frequent gastrointestinal symptoms, palpitations, sweating, trembling, shaking, and/or dry mouth); subjective experience of nervousness, restlessness, or being ‘on edge’; difficulty concentrating; irritability; sleep disturbances (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless, unsatisfying sleep).
- Symptoms last for several months and have no other organic, neuro of drug cause
- Symptoms cause significant distress about experiencing anxiety symptoms and affect functioning in personal, family, social and occupational life. If pt is able to function, it is through significant effort.
Drugs that can cause anxiety?
- salbutamol
- theophylline
- beta-blockers
- herbal medicines (including ma huang, St John’s wort, ginseng, guarana, belladonna)
- corticosteroids
- some antidepressants.
Investigations for GAD?
- History and examination
FBC - as can can cause heart palpitations - TFTs- rule out hyperthryoidism
- can used GAD-7
- Assess risk of suicide/ risk assessment
- ECG- rule out orgnaic cause for palpitations
What are some organic causes of anxiety that you must rule out?
- Hyperthyroidism
- Urine drug screen for any substance misuse
Less common: - 24 hour urine for vanillylmandelic and metanephrines-> PHAEOCHROMOCYTOMA
DDx for GAD?
- Panic disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- OCD
- PTSD
- Depression
- drug withdrawal
- Hyperthryoidism
- IBS
- Phaeochromocytoma
GAD management?
1) Communicate the diagnosis, education + active monitoring
2) Low-intensity psych interventions (individual non-facilitated self help or individual guided self help or psychoeducational groups)
3) IF step 2 hasn’t helped or there is marked functional impairment: CBT or applied relaxation or drug treatment with SSRIs
4) Complex, treatment refractory GAD with very marked functional impairment or high risk of self harm: Offer specialist referral of needs and risks. For any intervention that has been refused in steps 1-3 offer the benefits and options to have that treatment
What is the regime for individual non-facilitated self help in GAD?
Based on CBT principles
Written or electronic materials that the patient should work through systematically over a period of time.
Minimal therapist contact
Regime for indivdual guided self help in GAD?
- Suitable electronic or written materials supported by trained practioner
- 5-7 weekly or fornightly telephone sessions each lasting 20-30 mins
Regime for psychoeducational groups in GAD?
- Based on CBT principles
- Encourage observational learning through presentations and self-help manuals
- Conducted by trained practitioners
- Ratio of 1 therapist to 12 participants
- 6 weekly 2 hour sessions
Regime for high intensity psycho-interventions?
12-15 weekly sessions lasting 1 hour
Pt must know that response to treatment is not immediate and that a prolonged course is needed
What drug treaments are offered in GAD?
Sertraline (SSRI) first
If this is ineffective: offer an alternative e.g. escitalopram or an SNRI e.g. duloxetine
Review the effectiveness and adverse effects every 2-4 weeks during the first 3 months of treatment and then every 3 months after
Under 30 y/o pt needs to be seen within a week of starting the drug due to increased risk of suicide/self harm
What is OCD?
Characterised by obsessions or compulsions- commonly both
These symptoms cause a significant functional impairment and/or distress.
Prevalence of OCD?
Affects around 2% of the population
4th most common mental illness
Equal prevalence amongst males and females
Age of onset in late adolesence to early twenties, although males tend to develop it earlier
WHO has estimated than OCD is among the top 20 causes of illness-related disability for people between 15-44
What is an obsession?
Unwanted intrusive thought, image or urge that repeatedly enters the persons mind
What are compulsions?
Repetitive behaviours or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform
Can either be overt and observable by others e.g. checking that the door is locked or covert e.g. such as repeating a certain phrase in one’s mind
Risk factors for OCD?
Family history
Age: peak onset is between 10-20 years
Pregnancy/ postnatal period
History of abuse, bullying and neglect
How may a person present with OCD in primary care?
Derm symptoms from excessive washing
Genital or anal symptoms from excessive checking and washing
General stress ( from losing job for lateness etc.)
Fears about contracting HIV
Questions to ask someone with OCD to discover what type it is?
Do you wash or clean a lot?
Do you check things a lot?
Is there any thought that keeps bothering you that you would like to get rid of, but cannot?
Do your daily activities take a long time to finish?
Are. you concerned about putting things in a special order or are you upset by mess?
Do these problems trouble you?
ICD-10 classification of OCD?
Presence of recurrent, obsessional thoughts or compulsive acts
Obsessions are:
* Ideas, images or impulses that enter the persons mind again and again
* Distressing and the person often tries, unsuccessfully to resist them
* Recognized as the persons own thoughts even if they are repugnant
Compulsive acts or rituals are:
* Stereotyped behaviours that are repeated again and again
* Not inherently enjoyable or useful
* Performed to prevent some objectively unlikely event (often involving harm caused to or from the person)
* Usually recognized by person as being pointless or ineffectual and repeated attempts are made to resist them
Anxiety is almost always present, if compulsions are resisted then anxiety gets worse
DDx for OCD?
- obsessive compulsive personality disorder
- Body dysmorphic disorder
- Somatic symptom disorder
- Delusional disorder
- Hypochondriasis
- ASD
- Trichotillomania
How to assess the functional impairment in OCD?
- Ask about effects on work or school, relationships, social life and quality of life
- If they are very distressed/ have severe functional impairment- must carry out a risk assessment for suicide and self harm + safeguarding.
What is the Yale-Brown Obsessive-compulsive scale?
Allows to identify the severity of OCD
Very long but below are some of the questions:
How much of your day is occupied by obsessive thoughts or spent performing compulsive acts (mild, less than 1 hour; moderate, 1–3 hours; severe, more than 3 hours)?
How much do your obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviours interfere with your social or work/school functioning (including relationships)?
How much distress do your obsessive thoughts cause you?
How would you feel if prevented from performing your compulsion(s)? How anxious would you become?
How much of an effort do you make to resist the obsessive thoughts or compulsions?
How much control do you have over your obsessive thoughts? How strong is the drive to perform the compulsions?
When should you refer someone for specialist treatment for OCD?
- if the OCD and functional impairment is SEVERE
- Pt at risk of self harm, self neglect, significant co-morbitiy e.g. substance abuse, severe depression, anorexia
- Risk of suicide