Limitations and Strengths. An important limitation of the systematic review and meta-analysis is the limited generalizability and power of the findings as a result of the small number of studies that could be included in our analyses. Furthermore, we could not examine the association between prevalence rates of subthreshold anxiety and age, and the interaction effects between age and other relevant characteristics, because very little to no studies were suited to answer these questions. This underscores that most studies into the prevalence of anxiety in later life have not focused on the more nuanced questions related to this topic and that much work remains to be done in this field of study. The findings of the meta-analysis should be interpreted with caution, and do not allow for firm conclusions due to the high heterogeneity between included studies. While it could be argued that no meta-analysis should be conducted in the presence of large heterogeneity, we think that an integration of available information on a topic should still be preferred over leaving clinicians and scientists to make their own estimation of pooled effect sizes. Our elaborate search procedure resulted in the description and integration of a large number of studies into the prevalence of anxiety in older adults conducted over the last decades. Chapter 2 therefore provides a good overview of this field of study, the shortcomings and gaps in the currently available literature, and topics requiring further scientific attention.
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