Prevalence of anxiety disorders: a population-based epidemiological study in metropolitan area of Casablanca, Morocco

We used cross-sectional study, with a representative sample of Casablanca city. Direct interviews used the Mini International Neurpsychiatric Interview in its validated Moroccan Arabic versionAmong 800 subjects, 25.5% met criteria of at least one current anxiety disorder: Panic Disorder (2%), Agoraphobia (7.6%) Social phobia (3.4), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (6.1%), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (3.4%), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (4.3%)The results are generally similar to those of Western countries. Future studies need to replicate these results and to concentrate on their impact on the quality of life and the cost of such conditions in the community.Recent epidemiological studies of anxiety disorders provided evidence of their high frequency in the general population worldwide [1]. In the United States of America, the recent National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) found a lifetime prevalence rate of 28.8% [2] and a twelve-month prevalence of 18.1% [3].These disorders are mostly chronic, and have a negative impact on the life of patients and they can impair severely the daily functioning of the people suffering from them.They also have a high comorbidity between various anxiety disorders and with other mental disorders: depression, alcohol/substance dependence and abuse, suicide [4].On the other hand, anxiety disorders appear to be more common in community populations than in clinical settings [5].In Morocco, in spite of the high number of patients seen in our daily practice, so far no epidemiological study has been conducted to show the current prevalence of these disorders.The objectives of the current study were to obtain:- Data on prevalence of anxiety disorders in Moroccan subjects residing in metropolitan area of Casablanca, Morocco, in a population-based study.- Prevalence and nature of comorbidity of these disorders with other mental disorders.The study was cross-sectional one. Men and women, 15 years old or above, were randomly selected using