Nine-year course trajectories of mental disorders among respondents with 12-month anxiety disorders at baseline (n=220)

Recurrence and recovery were defined in two ways:

• Narrow – occurrence of the index anxiety disorder only at follow-up
• Broad – occurrence of any mental disorder, including the index anxiety disorder at follow-up

Recovery rate at the 3-year follow-up was 79.5% using the narrow definition and 61.8% using the broad definition. Rates of anxiety disorder persistence at 9-year follow-up were three times higher for the broad definition vs the narrow definition (15.5% vs 4.5%).