Canadians struggle to get adequate
treatment for anxiety disorders
Press Release
Attention: News, Health, Medical and Lifestyle Editors
Montreal, QC (December 6th, 2006)
The Statistics Canada Community Health Survey of
Mental Health and Wellbeing has revealed that anxiety
disorders are the most common mental health problems
in Canada. This recent survey estimates that
1,040,000 Canadians (3.2%) have social anxiety disorder,
480,000 Canadians (1.5%) have panic disorder, and
227,000 Canadians (0.7%) have agoraphobia. Anxiety
disorders were especially common in the young people
in the survey (ages 15 to 24) with 6.5% experiencing
one of these problems over the last year and 12%
over their lifetime. These are low estimates of the
rates of serious anxiety disorders in the population
because several important anxiety disorders such
as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive- Compulsive
Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Specific
Phobia were not surveyed. Anxiety disorders
are more common in women than men and among those
experiencing high levels of stress. Identifying and
treating anxiety disorders are particularly important
because these problems often develop during childhood
and represent an increased risk for other serious
health problems such as depression, substance misuse,
and smoking.
Across Canada it is a struggle for children and
adults with anxiety disorders to obtain adequate
treatment. The Canadian Psychiatric Association
has just published Treatment Guidelines for Anxiety
Disorders. These Guidelines are timely and
comprehensive and will encourage doctors to identify
anxiety disorders, which can be associated with a
wide variety of physical symptoms. Often these physical
symptoms will be treated but the underlying anxiety
disorder will go unrecognized. Increased recognition
can lead to effective treatment.
Medication treatment is the most widely available
treatment for anxiety problems and may be provided
by family doctors or psychiatrists. The selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) such
as paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram
(Celexa), and escitalopram (Cipralex) have been evaluated
and found to be helpful with a wide range of anxiety
disorders. The serotonin norepinephrine reuptake
inhibitors (SNRI’s) such as venlafaxine (Effexor)
have also been evaluated and found to be helpful
with a wide range of anxiety disorders. Special consideration
is necessary when medication treatments are used
with children and youth. A form of psychological
treatment called cognitive-behavior therapy has been
found to be equally effective in treatment of anxiety
disorders in children and adults. This treatment
focuses on teaching ways of dealing effectively with
anxiety.
It will continue to be a challenge for our health
care system to provide effective treatment to the
large numbers of people in need of care.
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