Anxiety? Or a Medical Condition?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Anxiety? Or a Medical Condition?
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 11:50am

Just a reminder for all of us:)

Anxiety Disorder Due to a General Medical Condition







A woman, age 56, has recently become jittery, tense, anxious, and irritable. She’s also losing weight. Seeing the marked change in her behavior, her husband and children ask what’s bothering her, but she doesn’t know. She isn’t under any unusual stress at work or at home. Desperate for an explanation, as well as relief, she goes to her doctor for a checkup. The doctor diagnoses an overactive thyroid. The woman begins taking thyroid medicine, and the symptoms disappear in days.

Symptoms: Anxiety, panic attacks, obsessions, or compulsions that are caused by a medical condition. These symptoms cause significant distress or interfere with functioning at work, at home, and in ordinary social situations.

Prevalence: The incidence varies with the medical condition as well as the anxiety disorder. One study found that the incidence of panic disorder is 20% among asthmatics and 50% among people with chest pain. Among diabetics, the rate of phobia is about 19% while the rate of generalized anxiety disorder is 17%.

Who’s at risk: People with dozens of medical conditions are at risk because these illnesses can cause chemical changes in the brain that induce anxiety symptoms. Here are the most common illnesses or categories of illnesses that can cause anxiety symptoms:



  • Cardiovascular conditions. These conditions include angina pectoris, arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, and valvular disease. A heart attack can also cause anxiety symptoms.

  • Endocrine disorders. These illnesses are caused by hormonal imbalances. They include hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), and pheochromocytoma, a tumor of the adrenal gland that secretes excess amounts of adrenaline. They also include diabetes, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

  • Neurologic conditions. Such conditions include vertigo and seizure disorders.

  • Peptic ulcer. Peptic ulcers are sores in the lining of the stomach and duodenum (the first part of the small intestine).

  • Respiratory conditions. These include asthma and hyperventilation syndrome, the tendency to breathe so quickly and deeply that you become dizzy.
Effective treatments: Treating the underlying medical condition usually relieves the anxiety symptoms.