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CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER AMONG ALDOLESCENTS
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Abstract
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive and uncontrollable anxiety. GAD is common in adolescents, the prevalence in the community is 2.2%-3.6%. Objectives: to describe clinical characteristics of GAD in adolescents. Method: cross-sectional description of 51 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years, diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder according to ICD 10 criteria, who came to the Institute of Mental Health, Bach Mai for examination and treatment from 8/2020 to 5/2021. Results: Mean age was 15.25 ± 2.22. The ratio of female: male is approximately 1.8: 1. Emotional symptoms group has the highest severity, the average score is 13.41. Symptoms of neurovegetative disorders in adolescents are moderate and the severity decreases with age. The symptom of “difficulty concentrating or feeling that your mind “goes blank” was the most severe of all the symptoms studied. The average HAMA score of adolescents in the study was 17.12 ± 9.71. Conclusion: Emotional symptoms are the most common symptom group in adolescent, autonomic symptoms are less common and their severity decreases with age.
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Keywords
general anxiety, aldolescent, clinical characteristics
References
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