Objective: The objective of our survey was to study the comorbidity between somatic disorders and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents.
Materials and Methods: We conducted a descriptive and retrospective study of 97 cases of children and adolescents who were consulted the child psychiatry department of Sfax, during the years 2007 and 2008. They were diagnosed for anxiety disorders (Axis I of DSM-IV TR).We studied the somatic comorbid anxiety disorders and their types among the different anxiety disorders.
Results: Somatic comorbidity was noted in 15.5% of cases: Epilepsy was noted in 3% of cases, severe refractive disorder in 2% of cases, bilateral deafness in 1% of cases, ulcerative colitis in 1% of cases and asthma in 1% of cases. The comorbidity was noted with generalized anxiety disorder in 16.66% of cases, with separation anxiety disorder in 11.1% of cases and with specific phobia in 4.8% of cases.
Conclusion: This study shows that comorbidity between somatic and anxiety disorders is quite common in children and adolescents, which compels an early detection because this association interferes with the treatment of anxiety disorders.