Cognitive risk profiles for anxiety disorders in a high-risk population. Issue 1 (30th September 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bardeen, Joseph R.; Stevens, Erin N.; Clark, Charles Brendan; Lahti, Adrienne C.; Cropsey, Karen L.
• Is Part Of: Psychiatry research. Volume 229:Issue 1/2(2015)
• Page Start: 572
• Page End: 576
• Publication Date: 2015-09-30
• Subjects: Anxiety/anxiety disorders -- Cognition -- ROC analyses -- Smoking -- Race; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- periodicals; Psychiatrie -- Périodiques; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.05.020
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0165-1781

Abstract

Abstract: The purpose of the present study was to identify subgroups of participants who may be at particularly high risk for anxiety pathology based on specific combinations of demographic characteristics and higher-order cognitive abilities in a population at disproportionate risk for deficits in cognitive abilities (i.e., smokers within the criminal justice system). Participants ( N =495) provided demographic information, were administered a semi-structured diagnostic interview, and completed a number of measures assessing cognitive abilities. A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) model using signal detection theory indicated that the strongest predictor of anxiety disorder diagnosis was race, with White participants having a 30.6% likelihood of diagnosis and participants in the non-White category (97% of which identified as Black/African American) having a 18.9% likelihood of diagnosis. Interestingly, the individual risk profile associated with the highest probability of having a current anxiety disorder was characterized by White participants with impaired response inhibition (58.6%), and the lowest probability of having a current anxiety disorder was among non-White males (13.9%). The findings, which indicated that White individuals with impaired response inhibition are at a disproportionately high risk for anxiety disorders, suggest a potential target for prevention and intervention. Highlights: Examined predictors of anxiety amongst individuals at high risk for cognitive difficulties. Strongest predictor of anxiety disorder diagnosis is race. Among White participants, the next best predictor is response inhibition. Among non-White participants, the next best predictor is gender.