How common is GAD? - Generalized anxiety disorder

Anxiety: A Very Short Introduction - Daniel Freeman, Jason Freeman 2012

How common is GAD?
Generalized anxiety disorder

Almost everyone worries from time to time. Some of us, though, worry more often and more intensely. In one study:

• 38% of people reported worrying at least once a day. 19.4% worried once every two to three days. And 15% worried about once a month.

• For 9% of people, their spells of worrying lasted two or more hours. 11% worried for one to two hours. 18% worried for between ten and sixty minutes; 38% for one to ten minutes; and a happy 24% said they worried for less than a minute at a time.

About 3% of people suffer from generalized anxiety disorder, and women are twice as likely to be affected as men. Research indicates that around 2% of young people may have experienced GAD by the age of 18, with 0.3% severely affected.