Psychopharmacologic treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and the risk of major depression

Objective: The authors sought to determine the association between treatment for generalized anxiety disorder and the risk of major depression among adults in the community. Method: Data were drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey (N=8,098), a representative sample of the United States population age 15-54. Cox proportional hazards were used to determine the association between specific forms of treatment for generalized anxiety disorder and the risk of major depression. Results: Psychopharmacologic treatment of generalized anxiety disorder was associated with a significantly lower risk of major depression. There was no significant association between either having seen a mental health professional for generalized anxiety disorder or having been prescribed a medication for generalized anxiety disorder and the risk of depression. Conclusions: These results suggest an association between treatment for generalized anxiety disorder and lower risk of depression, which appears specific to pharmacologic treatment. Future research that leads to a more precise delineation of the underlying mechanism of the observed association is needed to identify and develop effective strategies to prevent onset of depression.