2022 Volume 14 Issue 1 Pages 2-11
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) originally started out as a residual category and was reconstructed as an independent category with “worry” as the central symptom. However, “worry” is not specific as a central symptom of the disorder, a symptom that is also common in other mental and physical disorders. In addition, GAD has an extremely high comorbidity rate with other psychiatric disorders, and its existence as a distinct entity is inevitably questionable. To begin with, the diagnostic criteria for GAD itself have changed significantly over the past 40 years, and differed greatly between the DSM and ICD. Some have suggested that GAD is merely a precursor, residual symptom, exacerbating factor, or severity indicator of depression. Especially in our country, GAD is not a diagnosis that is actively given. Even if a patient has GAD, it is assumed that he/she is being treated with a diagnosis of depression, other anxiety disorders, or somatoform disorders. Some cases may be treated with multiple medications. In order to overcome this situation, it is necessary to further raise awareness of GAD, develop antidepressants indicated for the treatment of GAD, and create guidelines for the treatment of GAD in Japan.
