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Abstract Objective We assessed the impact of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) on disability and health-related quality of life in outpatients treated in psychiatric clinics via a secondary analysis conducted in 799 patients from a cross-sectional study of prevalence of GAD in psychiatric clinics. Methods Patients were allocated into two groups: follow-up (15.7%) and newly diagnosed patients (84.3%), and were administered the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI), Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and 36-item short form structured quality of life questionnaire (SF-36) scales. Results The newly diagnosed group showed higher significant intensity of anxiety (56.9% vs 43.0% (HAM-A >24)), psychiatrist's CGI Severity (CGI-S) scores (4.2 vs 3.7), and perceived stress according to SDS (5.7 vs 5.2). They also showed lower scores in mental health-related quality of life: 25.4 vs 30.8. Statistical differences by gender were not observed. GAD was shown to have a significant impact on patient quality of life and disability, with a substantial portion having persistent, out of control symptoms despite treatment. Conclusions These results suggest that there is still room for improvement in the medical management of patients with GAD treated in psychiatric clinics.