Amaç: Bu çalýþmanýn amacý sosyal anksiyete bozukluðu
(SAB) hastalarýnda erken ve geç baþlangýçlý SAB oranlarýnýn
belirlemek ve baþlangýç durumunun SAB kliniðine
ve seyrine etkilerini araþtýrmaktýr. Yöntem: 247 SAB hastasý
DSM-IV SCID-I ile deðerlendirildi. Hastalara sosyodemografik
veri formu, Leibowitz sosyal anksiyete ölçeði
(LSAÖ), Beck depresyon ölçeði (BDÖ) ve iþlevselliðin
genel deðerlendirilmesi (IGD) dolduruldu. SAB baþlangýç
yaþý 18'in altýnda olan 193 hasta erken baþlangýç, SAB
baþlangýç yaþý 18 ve üstünde olan 54 hasta ise geç
baþlangýç grubu olarak belirlendi. Erken ve geç baþlangýç
gruplarý sosyodemografik, klinik özellikler ve ölçekler
açýsýndan karþýlaþtýrýldý ve erken ve geç baþlangýç gruplarý
ile iliþkili deðiþkenler belirlendi. Bulgular: Hastalarýn
%78.1'inin SAB baþlangýç yaþý 18 yaþýndan öncedir. Erken
baþlangýç grubunun, geç baþlangýç grubuna göre ilk
depresif epizod yaþý daha düþük, toplam depresif epizod
sayýsý ve depresyonda atipiklik daha yüksek, LSAÖ kaygý,
kaçýnma ve toplam skor ve BDÖ skor ortalamarý daha
yüksek, IGD baþvuru anýnda ve geçen yýl ortalamalarý
daha düþük olarak bulunmuþtur. Sonuç: SAB hastalarýnda
erken baþlangýç durumunda, SAB semptom þiddeti ve
depresyon þiddeti ve rekürrensi artmýþ ve iþlevsellik
düþmüþ olarak bulunmuþtur. Bu nedenle SAB hastalarýnýn
erken yaþlarda yakalanmasý ve tedavilerinin
baþlanmasý önemlidir.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the
ratio of the early and late onset of Social Anxiety
Disorder and the effect of this onset situation on Social
Anxiety Disorder clinic and course. Method: 247 Social
Anxiety Disorder patients were assessed with DSM-IV
SCID-I. Sociodemographical data form, Leibowitz Social
Anxiety Scale (LSAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)
and Global Assessment of Functionality (GAF) were
applied to the patients. Two groups were performed
according to onset of the disorder at or above the age of
18 (54 patients) and under the age of 18 (193 patients).
Early and late onset groups were compared in terms of
sociodemographical variables, clinical features and
scales and variables were determined which were related
to early and late onset. Results: The onset of 78.1%
of the Social Anxiety Disorder patients were before the
age of 18. In the early onset group, the age at onset of
the first depressive episode were smaller, total number
of depressive episodes and the atypicality in depression
was higher, the avoidance and fear and total scores of
LSAS and BDI scores were higher, the mean scores of
current and past [year] GAF were lower. Conclusion: In
the case of early onset in social anxiety disorder patients,
the severity of social anxiety disorder and depression and
the recurrence rates of depression were higher and functionality
were found to be lower. It is important to diagnose
and start the treatment in the social anxiety disorder
patients earlier.