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Anxiety Disorders and Work Performance

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Work Accommodation and Retention in Mental Health

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent group of psychiatric illnesses in the workforce (American Psychiatric Association (APA) 2000; Sanderson and Andrews 2006).The lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders (as a group) in the general population is approximately 14% (APA 200; SEMeD/MHEDEA Investigators 2004a; Kessler et al. 2005). These disorders typically follow a chronic course and are accompanied by substantial functional impairment and an elevated suicide risk (Khan et al. 2002; Spitzer et al. 1995; van Balkom et al.2008; Yonkers et al.2003). More than half of the persons diagnosed with an anxiety disorder will have a comorbid psychiatric condition, the most com2008). Chronic medical conditions (e.g., cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, asthma) are also common among people with anxiety disorders (Demyttenare et al. 2008; Roy-Bryne et al. 2008; Zvolensy and Smits 2008). Despite significant advances in evidence-based interventions, these disorders tend to go unrecognized and untreated (Lim et al. 2000; Schonfeld et al.1997).

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  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, 2255 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 2A1

    Jaye Wald

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  1. Department of Educational and Counsellin, Special Needs, University of British Columbia, 2125 Main Hall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, British Columbia, Canada

    Izabela Z. Schultz

  2. Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitati, Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston University, 940 Commonwealth Ave. West, Boston, 02215, Massachusetts, USA

    E. Sally Rogers

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Wald, J. (2011). Anxiety Disorders and Work Performance. In: Schultz, I., Rogers, E. (eds) Work Accommodation and Retention in Mental Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0428-7_7

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