Symptoms of Anxiety in Older Adults with Depression, Dementia, or Psychosis: A Principal Component Analysis of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory

Abstract

Aims: The primary aim of this study was to examine anxiety symptoms as measured by the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) in older patients with depression, dementia, or psychotic disorders. The secondary aim was to conduct a principal component analysis (PCA) of the GAI and to examine whether its subscales differ between the 3 disorders. Methods: We included data from 428 patients who were admitted to a department of geriatric psychiatry and examined according to a standardized protocol. The GAI was used to measure current anxiety symptoms. Results: The GAI symptoms occurred more frequently in the group with depression than in the other 2 groups. The PCA of the GAI with oblimin rotation resulted in a 2-component solution, labelled as “worries” (explained variance 46.3%, Cronbach's α 0.92) and “physical symptoms” (explained variance 7.1%, Cronbach's α 0.85). Conclusion: The results indicate that in old age, anxiety is especially prevalent in depression. The 2-component solution indicates that the GAI measures 2 different aspects of anxiety with different symptomatology.

Anxiety, Anxiety Symptoms, and Their Correlates in Persons with Dementia in Norwegian Nursing Homes: A Cause for Concern

“…Our study's findings that 52.9% of the participants with anxiety and 77.1% of the participants with depression had comorbid anxiety and depression are not surprising, as anxiety and depression highly coexist both in persons with dementia and in cognitively intact older adults [6,41]. However, 47.1% of the participants with anxiety had only anxiety, as compared to 22.9% of the participants with only depression.…”

Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adults with Depression Are Associated with Suicidality

“…Inclusion criteria for the present study ( n = 218) were having a main diagnosis of major depression and having been assessed with the GAI. Baseline data from the local quality register were used in the present analyses and have been described in previous papers [2, 29]. About 1/3 of the patients with lack of the GAI had a main diagnosis of major depression; this prevalence is a bit lower than that in the group with completed GAI [2].…”

Anxiety symptom levels are persistent in older adults with a mental disorder: A 33‐month follow‐up study

“…1,22 Between 2011 and 2014, 276 outpatients and hospitalized patients were included in the quality register and eligible for inclusion in the present follow-up study. 1,22 Between 2011 and 2014, 276 outpatients and hospitalized patients were included in the quality register and eligible for inclusion in the present follow-up study.…”

“…We chose to obtain data from the GAI instrument by using structured interviews. 22 8 Each item can be scored as 0 (symptom not present) or 1 (symptom present).…”

“…All patients referred to the Department of Geriatric Psychiatry at Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway, were asked to participate in a local quality register named Quality Register for Old Age Psychiatry Patients (in Norwegian: KVALAP) as described in previous papers. 1,22 Between 2011 and 2014, 276 outpatients and hospitalized patients were included in the quality register and eligible for inclusion in the present follow-up study. Of these, 75 patients were excluded due to lack of data (n = 16), refusal to participate (n = 50), or subsequent withdrawal of consent (n = 9).…”