Anxiety and cognitive functioning in the Maastricht study: A cross-sectional population study.

Background: Higher anxiety levels in older adults are associated with worse executive functioning and an increased risk for dementia. In this study individual anxiety disorders and clinically relevant generalized anxiety symptoms are studied in relation to multiple cognitive domains.

Method: This cross-sectional study includes 7344 community-dwelling participants of The Maastricht Study aged 40-75 years and oversampling of type 2 diabetes.

Anxiety in Late-Life Depression: Determinants of the Course of Anxiety and Complete Remission.

Objective: Studies on the course of depression often ignore comorbid anxiety disorders or anxiety symptoms. We explored predictors of complete remission (no depression nor anxiety diagnoses at follow-up) and of the course of comorbid anxiety symptoms. We additionally tested the hypothesis that the course of anxiety disorders and symptoms in depressed patients is explained by negative life-events in the presence of high neuroticism or a low sense of mastery.

The Impact of Personality Pathology on Treatment Outcome in Late-life Panic Disorder.

Background: Comorbid personality disorders are assumed to negatively interfere with the treatment outcome of affective disorders. Data on late-life panic disorder remain unknown. We examined the association of personality pathology and treatment outcome related to age and treatment modality.

Anxiety as a Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline: A 12-Year Follow-Up Cohort Study.

Objective: Anxiety might be a risk factor for cognitive decline, but previous studies had short follow-up or small sample sizes or studied general or single cognitive domain functioning.

Methods: Anxiety symptoms were assessed with the Symptom Checklist-90 in 918 participants of the Maastricht Aging Study aged 50 years or older. Anxiety was analyzed both dichotomously (highest versus lower quartiles as a group) and continuously.

Anxiety as a Predictor for Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Because anxiety is postulated as a risk factor for dementia, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate whether anxiety predicts cognitive decline and/or dementia, taking the stage of cognitive decline as well as setting into account.

Methods: A systematic literature search up to January 2015 was performed to identify all longitudinal studies on the association between anxiety and cognition. Data extraction and methodological quality assessment were conducted independently by two authors.