Japanese Society of Anxiety and Related Disorders/Japanese Society of Neuropsychopharmacology: Clinical practice guideline for social anxiety disorder (2021)

Satoshi Asakura; Naoki Yoshinaga; Hisashi Yamada; Yutaka Fujii; Nobuyuki Mitsui; Yoshihiro Kanai; Takeshi Inoue; Eiji Shimizu

doi:10.1002/npr2.12365

Japanese Society of Anxiety and Related Disorders/Japanese Society of Neuropsychopharmacology: Clinical practice guideline for social anxiety disorder (2021)

Neuropsychopharmacol Rep. 2023 Sep;43(3):288-309. doi: 10.1002/npr2.12365. Epub 2023 Aug 25.

Authors

Satoshi Asakura^{1

2

3}, Naoki Yoshinaga^{1

4}, Hisashi Yamada^{1

2

5}, Yutaka Fujii^{1

2

3}, Nobuyuki Mitsui^{1

2

3}, Yoshihiro Kanai^{1

6}, Takeshi Inoue^{1

2

7}, Eiji Shimizu^{1

2

8}

Affiliations

¹ Japanese Society of Anxiety and Related Disorders, Tokyo, Japan.
² Japanese Society of Neuropsychopharmacology, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine/Health Care Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
⁴ School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan.
⁵ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan.
⁶ Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, Tohoku Gakuin University, Sendai, Japan.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁸ Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.

Abstract

The development of clinical practice guidelines for social anxiety disorder began in March 2018 when the Joint Clinical Practice Guideline Development Committee for Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders was formed by the Japanese Society of Anxiety and Related Disorders and Japanese Society of Neuropsychopharmacology to jointly develop guidelines for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Based on the universal concept of evidence-based medicine, three clinical questions (CQs) about pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy were developed for clinical guidelines for social anxiety disorder, panic disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder in accordance with the Minds "Manual for Guidelines Development 2017 by the Japan Council for Quality Health Care: CQ1-"What is the recommended pharmacotherapy for social anxiety disorder in adults?"; CQ2-"What is the recommended psychotherapy (psychological intervention) for social anxiety disorder in adults?"; and CQ3-"What are the recommendations regarding monotherapy and combination therapy for social anxiety disorder in adults in terms of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy (psychological interventions)?" Summarized recommendations for social anxiety disorder in adults are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor for CQ1, cognitive behavioral therapy for CQ2, and there are no recommendations regarding monotherapy and combination therapy for CQ3. These were answered by considering the balance between benefits and harms based on systematic reviews of each. The aim of this brief guideline for the standard-of-care (i.e., medical treatment) for social anxiety disorder in adults (18 years and older) was to help "shared decision making," in which medical professionals, including physicians, and patients share scientific evidence to decide on a course of treatment.

Keywords: Japan; anxiety disorders; practice guidelines; social anxiety disorders; treatment.

Publication types

Practice Guideline
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Anti-Anxiety Agents / therapeutic use
Anxiety / therapy
Anxiety Disorders / drug therapy
Anxiety Disorders / therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Combined Modality Therapy
East Asian People
Humans
Japan
Phobia, Social* / drug therapy
Phobia, Social* / therapy

Substances

Anti-Anxiety Agents