The authors examined the relationship between anxiety, depression, and physical disability, after controlling for demographic and health variables, in a sample of 374 adults ages 18-94. Results indicate that anxiety, depression, and comorbid anxiety and depression are associated with higher levels of disability, after controlling for factors such as age, gender, income, self-rated health, number of medical conditions, and number of physician visits in the past year. Furthermore, anxiety, depression, and comorbid anxiety and depression have a differential effect on disability according to age, with older adults with any of these symptoms reporting higher levels of disability than younger adults. These findings suggest that physicians working with older adults should assess for and treat anxiety as well as depressive symptoms.Anxiety, depression, and physical disability are three major problems faced by many older adults, and there is growing evidence that these problems are related. Many studies have demonstrated that depressive symptoms are related to disability and poorer recovery from medical incidents independent of the increased medical burden experienced by depressed adults (for a review, see Lenze et al., 2001). However, surprisingly little research has examined the relationship between anxiety symptoms and disability.Research has suggested that anxiety symptoms and disorders may be as disabling as depression (Kessler et al., 1999;Massion, Warshaw, & Keller, 1993;Ormel et al., 1994;Wetherell et al., 2004). Nonetheless, only a handful of studies have examined the relationship between anxiety and disability. Based on these studies, anxiety symptoms appear to be associated with increased levels of disability among older adults with medical comorbidities. With the exception of Brenes et al. (2005), however, these studies did not examine the impact of anxiety on disability independent of depressive symptoms. Because anxiety and depressive symptoms are frequently comorbid, especially in older adults, it is important to determine if anxiety is a risk factor for disability independent of depression. One study provides evidence that anxiety is a predictor of the progression of disability, supporting the further study of anxiety. A second limitation of these studies is the small age range of the sample. Studies have focused on either adults or older adults, rather than taking a lifespan approach. No research to date has examined whether disability is more strongly related to anxiety or depression in older adults than in younger adults. Because disability is a more normative or expected experience in older people than in younger people and there are many competing somatic conditions, it is possible that disability in late-life is less strongly associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Conversely, since disability in older adults is often associated with increasing dependence and institutional placement, this may result in higher levels of anxiety or depression for older adults facing disability.The pur...