• Anxiety and mood
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2017

Objective : This study aimed to investigate differences in demographic, clinical characteristics, and quality of life between panic-disorder patients with generalized anxiety disorder (PD+GAD) and without generalized anxiety disorder (PD-GAD). Methods : We examined data from 218 patients diagnosed with PD+GAD (150 patients) and PD-GAD (68patients). The following instruments were applied: Stress coping strategies, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS), Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised (ASI-R), Albany Panic and Phobia Questionnaire (APPQ), NEO-neuroticism(NEO-N), Short Form health survey-36 (SF-36). Results : Compared to the PD-GAD group, the PD+GAD group had higher scores in emotion-focused coping strategies and clinical severity, such as BDI, BAI, PDSS, ASI, APPQ, and neuroticism. The PD+ GAD group showed lower scores in most scales in SF-36 status than PD-GAD group. Conclusions : This study shows that PD+GAD patients are different from PD-GAD patients in coping strategies, clinical severity and quality of life. It emphasizes the need of personalized therapy in clinical approach among patients with PD+GAD.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2015

Objective : Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common anxiety disorder characterized by excessive worries and anxiety symptoms. To distinguish between pathological and normal worries, this study compared the contents and severity of worries among patients with GAD with those of matched non-psychiatric control Methods : Thirty outpatients with GAD receiving treatment at the psychiatric department of Hanyang University Guri Hospital were recruited. As a matched control group, we selected 30 adults without psychiatric history who participated in the Anxiety Disorder Survey, during the Mental Health Exposition held in Seoul in April, 2014. Matched demographic data were age, sex, education, and household income. Self-questionnaires included demographic data, contents of worry (10 categories of worries and each severity), and the Pennsylvania State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). Results : There was no statistical difference in the contents of worry between patient and control groups. However, the total PSWQ scores significantly higher in the GAD group. Conclusion : Our findings suggest that patients and non-patients worry about the similar contents and worries in GAD cannot be differentiated by what people worry about. Only the severity of worry was a distinguishable feature. Our finding supported inclusion of the diagnostic criterion of "excesslve wornes" in GAD.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.100-107
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• 2017

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate strategies used to cope with stress and the cognitive characteristics of somatic symptom perception in patients with generalized anxiety disorder(GAD). Methods : A total of 55 patients meeting DSM-5 criteria for GAD and 55 normal controls were recruited for participation in this study. We evaluated subjects using The Way of Stress Coping Questionnaire (SCQ), Somato-Sensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), Symptom Interpretation Questionnaire (SIQ), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder for 7 Item (GAD-7). We analyzed data using an independent t-test and Pearson's correlation analysis. Results : In terms of SCQ, GAD patients presented significantly lower scores on seeking social support and higher scores on wishful thinking than normal controls. GAD patients had significantly greater amplification of physical sensation in SSAS and higher scores in physical, psychological interpretation subsets of SIQ than normal controls. GAD-7 scores were positively correlated with physical interpretation scores on SIQ. Conclusion : Results reveal that patients with GAD have insufficient coping strategies for stress, greater amplification of body sensations, and tendency towards a physical, psychological interpretation of somatic symptoms.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2005

Objective:The purposes of this study were to investigate heart rate variability(HRV) in patients with generalized anxiety disorder(GAD) compared with major depressive disorder in Korea. Methods:Fifty-six GAD patients(20 male and 36 female) was classified into their comorbid psychiatric illness. Among them, Twenty-five patients(10 male and 15 female) who do not have any psychiatric comorbidity were compared with 30 major depressive disorder patients(12 male and 18 female). Clinical symptoms, HRV and MMPI were analysed between two group. Results:Comorbid psychiatric illnesses of GAD were ranked into no diagnosis(44.6%), MDD(32.1%), panic disorder(10.7%), social phobia(5.3%), PTSD(1.7%), OCD(1.7%), MDD+panic disorder(1.7%) and MDD+specific phobia(1.7%). GAD patients showed low functioning in HRV, but degree of decreasing HRV is not so severe compared with MDD patient. Balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve tone is more severely impaired in GAD patients compared with MDD patient. The score of MMPI did not reveal any differences between two groups. Conclusions:The result showed that HRV can differenciate GAD and MDD patients. GAD patients could show decreased HRV functioning, less than MDD patients. But autonomic imbalance could be more severe in GAD than MDD patients.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.3-9
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• 2013

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is defined as the tendency to react negatively on an emotional, cognitive, and behavioral level to uncertain situations and events. However, this definition is somewhat categorical and does not explain the phenomenology of IU. Intolerance of uncertainty scale (IUS), the standard measure of IU, was considered to have two factors : 'unacceptability and avoidance of uncertainty' and 'uncertainty leading to the inability to act'. IU may be a cognitive vulnerability factor for clinical worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A number of moderators and mediators including cognitive avoidance, experiential avoidance and rumination influence the relationship between IU, worry, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, anxious and depressive symptoms. IU may be more strongly related to the symptoms of GAD than to symptoms of other anxiety disorders including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and major depressive disorder. IU may serve as an important transdiagnostic feature across anxiety and depressive disorders. Incorporating IU-specific treatment components into therapeutic protocols may result in pervasive benefits, and not only for those with GAD or OCD, but for people with any anxiety disorder or with depression.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.403-420
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• 2023

Objectives: This study investigated the effectiveness of herbal medicine for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) based on recent clinical studies. Methods: Studies were searched through four databases. Clinical research studies on herbal medicine treatment for GAD patients were included. The studies were analyzed according to study design, diagnostic criteria, population, and intervention. A risk of bias assessment was performed to assess the quality of the included randomized controlled trials (RCT). If the intervention applied to the treatment and control groups was the same and two or more studies were reporting the same items as outcome indicators, a meta-analysis was performed. Results: A total of 19 studies, including 12 RCTs were selected. The most common pattern identification was 'Phlegm fire disturbing upward' (痰熱上擾), and the most used herb for therapeutic purposes was 'Rhizome of Poria cocos' (茯苓). Meta-analysis results of three studies showed that there were no significant differences in effectiveness between the herbal medicine intervention and the Western medicine intervention. Meta-analysis results of five studies showed that the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale was significantly reduced in the case of herbal medicine intervention compared to Western medicine intervention. Conclusions: The results of our study demonstrated that herbal medicine treatment for GAD is effective in alleviating anxiety symptoms and chief symptoms of GAD. However, this study has several limitations; there was a lack of placebo-controlled RCT and an absence of objective diagnostic criteria in case reports. Therefore, further well-designed clinical studies, conducted based on the results of this study, are recommended.

• Korean Journal of School Psychology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.207-230
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• 2019

This study examined the effect of Attention Feedback Awareness and Control Training(A-FACT) on attention bias and generalized anxiety symptoms in college students. A total of 31 college students with at least 10 points on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale or at least 56 points on the Korean version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (K-PSWQ) with attention bias were randomly assigned to one of three groups: A-FACT( n = 11), Attention Bias Modification (ABM)(n = 10) and Active Placebo Control (APC)(n = 10). Participants in A-FACT group received real-time feedback on attention bias based on their Baseline Neutral Response time(BNR) during A-FACT using a dot probe task. Participants in the ABM group received standard ABM, and those in the APC performed a dot probe task that they were informed was a program to reduce attention bias, but feedback was not provided. A total of eight sessions was conducted twice a week over a 4-week period. After every two sessions, GAD-7, K-PSWQ and K-STAI were rated. The effect of attention bias modification training was rated by changes in the Attention Bias Score(ABS), and in GAD-7, K-PSWQ and K-STAI scores. The results of repeated measure ANOVA indicated that the A-FACT group showed a significant decrease in ABS as well as in GAD-7, K-PSWQ and K-STAI scores compared to the other groups. Current results suggest that self-regulatory control of attention, that is, recognition of bias through feedback in A-FACT, may be effective in alleviating attention bias and generalized anxiety symptoms by recognizing bias through feedback on bias in attention bias modification training.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.269-279
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of the spread of a new type of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on the mental state in school-age children and parents focusing on the aspects of sleep disorders and depression. A questionnaire survey was conducted for 123 parents and 108 school-age children who visited Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Kyung Hee University Dental Hospital at Gangdong from April 2, 2020 through April 25, 2020, via the direct writing method. Participants were assessed with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7, Center for Epidemiology Scale for Depression. Logistic regressions were used with a level of significance of 5%. The prevalence of GAD, depression, and poor sleep in parents were 34.1%, 17.1% and 44.7%, respectively. The prevalence of GAD in children was 20.4%. Logistic regression showed that stress from Emergency Alert Messages about COVID-19 was associated with GAD and depression in parents. In children, the degree of emotional change after COVID-19 was associated with GAD. This study confirmed that there was a change in the psychological status of children and guardians due to the epidemic of coronavirus disease-2019, and it would be necessary to consider their psychological status during dental treatment.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2014

Objective : To obtain the incidence rate of anxiety disorders among the active duty Korean military personnel, who visited the military hospitals from 2011 to 2013, this descriptive epidemiological study was performed. Methods : After acquiring the data for the anxiety disorders from Defense Medical Statistics Information System, the annual incidence rates were analyzed by forces, position status, and specific disease entities. Results : One thousand, nine hundred and thirteen (1,913) active duty male military personnel were diagnosed with any kinds of anxiety disorders in their first visit to the psychiatric outpatient department (OPD). The total OPD visit counts were 7,870 during the same period. Anxiety disorder, NOS was the most frequent disorder, followed by panic disorder. While the incidence rate for anxiety disorder, NOS decreased, panic disorder displayed increasing tendency. Stress-related disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder were positioned third and fourth, respectively, for the number of first visit and they both showed decreasing tendency in annual incidence rates. Social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and mixed anxiety-depressive disorder followed next. The annual incidence rates for anxiety disorders showed decreasing tendency, particularly evident in army soldiers. However, naval officers showed higher anxiety disorder incidence rate compared to those of the army and the air forces. Conclusion : Comparing to general population, panic disorder was higher while specific phobias and GAD were lower in the Korean military. It is interesting to observe higher incidence rate for anxiety disorder in naval officers and warrants further evaluation.

• Psychiatry investigation
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1053-1063
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• 2018

Objective This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Korean Anxiety Screening Assessment (K-ANX) developed for screening anxiety disorders. Methods Data from 613 participants were analyzed. The K-ANX was evaluated for reliability using Cronbach's alpha, item-total correlation, and test information curve, and for validity using focus group interviews, factor analysis, correlational analysis, and item characteristics based on item response theory (IRT). The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the K-ANX were compared with those of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7). Results The K-ANX showed excellent internal consistency (${\alpha}=0.97$) and item-total coefficients (0.92-0.97), and a one-factor structure was suggested. All items were highly correlated with the total scores of the BAI, GAD-7, and Penn State Worry Questionnaire. IRT analysis indicated the K-ANX was most informative as a screening tool for anxiety disorders at the range between 0.8 and 1.6 (i.e., top 21.2 to 5.5 percentiles). Higher sensitivity (0.795) and specificity (0.937) for identifying anxiety disorders were observed in the K-ANX compared to the BAI and GAD-7. Conclusion The K-ANX is a reliable and valid measure to screen anxiety disorders in a Korean sample, with greater sensitivity and specificity than current measures of anxiety symptoms.