Assessing uptake of the core outcome set in anxiety disorder clinical trials: a cross-sectional analysis

Anxiety disorders (AD) continue to be a leading cause of health-related burden in 2023, with over 300 million worldwide estimated to be diagnosed [1]. These conditions saw an increase in prevalence due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, with a study by Santomauro et al. showing an increase from 298 to 374 million people affected [2]. The same study estimated 44.5 million years of healthy life lost due to disability or mortality attributable to AD during the pandemic [2]. Furthermore, AD is linked to severe effects on various aspects of quality of life, with one study indicating that individuals diagnosed with AD tend to assess their life circumstances – including health perception, social relationships and home and family life – as notably lower than those unaffected by AD [3]. With the prevalence of these conditions on the rise and their extensive reach across numerous health domains, the call for treatments that are patient-focused and successful cannot be overstated. Standard of care for AD currently include cognitive behavioral therapies, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, other pharmacologics, and non-pharmacologicals; [4, 5] however, further research is still needed into the optimal use of existing treatments as well as continued search for additional treatments [6‐8]. …