Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a chronic or relapsing condition characterised by persistent and pervasive worrying and tension, which causes substantial personal distress and imposes a considerable economic burden. Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent of mental disorders and generalised anxiety disorder is the most common impairing anxiety disorder in primary care. 

Current guidelines for GAD that fails to respond to conservative treatment (education or self-help actvities) recommend first line pharmacological management.

Baldwin and colleagues compared the efficacy and tolerability of 9 drug treatments for GAD by combining data from published randomised controlled trials in a Mixed Treatment Comparison (also known as a Network Meta-Analysis). Five of the drugs are currently licensed for generalised anxiety disorder in the United Kingdom - duloxetine, escitalopram, paroxetine, pregabalin and venlafaxine. Fluoxepine, lorezapam, sertraline and tiagabine were also included.

The paper is on open access