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Eighty-two women, presenting as normal-weight bulimics, obese binge eaters, social phobics, and individuals with panic disorder, were compared on anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. All were administered the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule-Revised and completed the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test, Drug Abuse Screening Test, and Self-Consciousness Scale. A striking proportion of eating disorder subjects were comorbid for one or more anxiety disorders, the most frequent diagnoses being generalized anxiety disorder and social phobia. The results suggest that the place of anxiety in bulimia nervosa goes beyond that discussed within the context of the anxiety reduction model. Conflicting comorbidity findings among this and prior investigations are noted, however, and discussed in terms of the issue of differential diagnosis between eating and anxiety disorders.

In the revision to DSM-III, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is no longer considered only a residual category but can be diagnosed even when other axis I disorders are present. In this report, we present basic descriptive data on 22 patients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for GAD. Specific spheres of worry most commonly reported by patients with GAD are presented as well as data suggesting that these spheres of worry can be identified and judged as excessive or unrealistic in a reliable fashion. Nearly all GAD patients receive an additional diagnosis (comorbidity). Patterns of comorbidity indicate a high frequency of social phobia as an additional diagnosis in this sample. The present study suggests that, consistent with the new definition of GAD, a group of patients exist who worry excessively about two or more life circumstances and have the accompanying physiological symptoms with sufficient severity to satisfy the diagnostic criteria. Preliminary evidence suggests that this pattern of chronic intense worry about life circumstances discriminates GAD from other anxiety disorders.