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Social anxiety symptoms across diagnoses among outpatients attending a tertiary care mood and anxiety disorders service

Social anxiety symptoms across diagnoses among outpatients attending a tertiary care mood and anxiety disorders service
Social anxiety symptoms across diagnoses among outpatients attending a tertiary care mood and anxiety disorders service
BACKGROUND: Social phobia is a common, persistent and disabling anxiety disorder in which co-existing depressive symptoms are common. However the prevalence of social anxiety symptoms in patients with other mood and anxiety disorders is uncertain.
METHOD: In consecutive patients attending a tertiary referral mood and anxiety disorders service, depressive symptoms were assessed by the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and social anxiety symptoms by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). The Clinical Global Impression of Severity (CGI-S) was completed following the appointment.
RESULTS: 75 patients (48 women, 27 men; mean age 45.9 years) completed the study. 38 had a single diagnosis and 37 co-morbid diagnoses: 15 patients had bipolar disorder, 35 unipolar depressive disorder, 19 an anxiety disorder, and 6 other disorders. Independent samples t-tests and one-way between-subjects ANOVA revealed that the severity of social anxiety symptoms but not depressive symptoms was significantly greater in patients with co-morbid diagnoses (LSAS 73.7 vs 54.2, t(72)=2.44, p<.05; MADRS 21.9 vs 18.0, t(73)=1.76, p=.08; CGI-S 3.7 vs 3.2, t(73)=2.64, p<.05); and in anxiety disorders than in unipolar depression or bipolar disorder (respectively; LSAS 78.8 vs 59.4 vs 50.0, F(2, 65)=3.13, p=.05; MADRS 22.2 vs 19.8 vs 17.5, F(2, 66)<1, ns; CGI-S 3.9 vs 3.3 vs 3.1, F(2, 66)=5.43, p<.01). In the overall sample, correlation coefficients were MADRS and LSAS, R(2)=0.2628, p<.001; MADRS and CGI-S, R(2)=0.5863, p<.001; and LSAS and CGI-S, R(2)=0.327, p<.001. Correlations between MADRS and LSAS scores were higher in bipolar disorder (R(2)=0.4900, p<.01) than in unipolar depression (R(2)=0.376, p<.01) or anxiety disorders (R(2)=0.0041, ns).
LIMITATIONS: Small size of convenience sample undergoing varying treatments within a single specialist tertiary referral centre.
CONCLUSIONS: There was only a moderate correlation between depressive and social anxiety symptoms across a range of diagnoses. Depressive and social anxiety symptoms were most severe but least well correlated among tertiary care outpatients with anxiety disorders, emphasising the need for comprehensive evaluation and treatment.
social anxiety, depression, correlation, anxiety, bipolar disorder
0165-0327
305-309
Graystone, H.J.
60b0f663-7f06-4343-9640-dee7762664a6
Garner, M.J.
3221c5b3-b951-4fec-b456-ec449e4ce072
Baldwin, D.S.
1beaa192-0ef1-4914-897a-3a49fc2ed15e
Graystone, H.J.
60b0f663-7f06-4343-9640-dee7762664a6
Garner, M.J.
3221c5b3-b951-4fec-b456-ec449e4ce072
Baldwin, D.S.
1beaa192-0ef1-4914-897a-3a49fc2ed15e

Graystone, H.J., Garner, M.J. and Baldwin, D.S. (2009) Social anxiety symptoms across diagnoses among outpatients attending a tertiary care mood and anxiety disorders service. Journal of Affective Disorders, 114 (1-3), 305-309. (doi:10.1016/j.jad.2008.06.003).

Record type: Article

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Social phobia is a common, persistent and disabling anxiety disorder in which co-existing depressive symptoms are common. However the prevalence of social anxiety symptoms in patients with other mood and anxiety disorders is uncertain.
METHOD: In consecutive patients attending a tertiary referral mood and anxiety disorders service, depressive symptoms were assessed by the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and social anxiety symptoms by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). The Clinical Global Impression of Severity (CGI-S) was completed following the appointment.
RESULTS: 75 patients (48 women, 27 men; mean age 45.9 years) completed the study. 38 had a single diagnosis and 37 co-morbid diagnoses: 15 patients had bipolar disorder, 35 unipolar depressive disorder, 19 an anxiety disorder, and 6 other disorders. Independent samples t-tests and one-way between-subjects ANOVA revealed that the severity of social anxiety symptoms but not depressive symptoms was significantly greater in patients with co-morbid diagnoses (LSAS 73.7 vs 54.2, t(72)=2.44, p<.05; MADRS 21.9 vs 18.0, t(73)=1.76, p=.08; CGI-S 3.7 vs 3.2, t(73)=2.64, p<.05); and in anxiety disorders than in unipolar depression or bipolar disorder (respectively; LSAS 78.8 vs 59.4 vs 50.0, F(2, 65)=3.13, p=.05; MADRS 22.2 vs 19.8 vs 17.5, F(2, 66)<1, ns; CGI-S 3.9 vs 3.3 vs 3.1, F(2, 66)=5.43, p<.01). In the overall sample, correlation coefficients were MADRS and LSAS, R(2)=0.2628, p<.001; MADRS and CGI-S, R(2)=0.5863, p<.001; and LSAS and CGI-S, R(2)=0.327, p<.001. Correlations between MADRS and LSAS scores were higher in bipolar disorder (R(2)=0.4900, p<.01) than in unipolar depression (R(2)=0.376, p<.01) or anxiety disorders (R(2)=0.0041, ns).
LIMITATIONS: Small size of convenience sample undergoing varying treatments within a single specialist tertiary referral centre.
CONCLUSIONS: There was only a moderate correlation between depressive and social anxiety symptoms across a range of diagnoses. Depressive and social anxiety symptoms were most severe but least well correlated among tertiary care outpatients with anxiety disorders, emphasising the need for comprehensive evaluation and treatment.

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More information

Published date: April 2009
Keywords: social anxiety, depression, correlation, anxiety, bipolar disorder

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 62395
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/62395
ISSN: 0165-0327
PURE UUID: 8292aabb-3238-49a1-958e-eef51fe687cf
ORCID for M.J. Garner: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9481-2226
ORCID for D.S. Baldwin: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3343-0907

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Date deposited: 10 Feb 2009
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:24

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Author: H.J. Graystone
Author: M.J. Garner ORCID iD
Author: D.S. Baldwin ORCID iD

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