What is ICD-10 code F43.22?

F43.22 is the ICD-10-CM code for Adjustment disorder with anxiety. It sits in subcategory F43.2 (Adjustment disorders), within category F43 (Reaction to severe stress, and adjustment disorders). It applies when anxiety is the predominant response to an identifiable stressor.

Is F43.22 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes, F43.22 is a billable code in the FY2027 ICD-10-CM code set (effective October 1, 2026). The other billable adjustment disorder codes are F43.20 (unspecified), F43.21 (with depressed mood), F43.23 (with mixed anxiety and depressed mood), F43.24 (with disturbance of conduct), F43.25 (with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct), and F43.29 (with other symptoms).

What are the diagnostic criteria for F43.22?

Under DSM-5-TR, adjustment disorder requires emotional or behavioural symptoms that begin within 3 months of a stressor and do not persist more than 6 months after the stressor ends. Symptoms must be clinically significant, shown by distress out of proportion to the stressor (taking culture into account), significant impairment in functioning, or both. They must not meet criteria for another disorder or be better explained by normal bereavement or prolonged grief disorder.

What is the difference between F43.22 and F43.23?

The fifth character names the predominant symptoms. F43.22 is adjustment disorder with anxiety, F43.21 is with depressed mood, and F43.23 is with mixed anxiety and depressed mood. Choose F43.22 when anxiety clearly predominates, and F43.23 when anxiety and low mood are both prominent.

What is the difference between F43.22 and F41.1?

F41.1 (Generalized anxiety disorder) is a specific anxiety disorder with its own criteria, including hard-to-control worry for at least 6 months. Category F41 carries an Excludes2 note for anxiety in transient adjustment reaction (F43.2). When anxiety follows an identifiable stressor within the time frame and does not meet criteria for another disorder, F43.22 is the code.

What scale is used to screen for F43.22?

There is no single standard screener for adjustment disorder; a dedicated tool is still being validated (Geer, 2023). In practice, the GAD-7 tracks the anxiety component. In its validation study, a score of 10 or higher had 89% sensitivity and 82% specificity for generalized anxiety disorder (Spitzer et al., 2006). Scores give a baseline and a way to show change, but do not make the diagnosis.

How long does adjustment disorder with anxiety last?

Symptoms typically begin within days of the stressful event, and by definition within 3 months. They resolve within 6 months of the end of the stressor and its consequences. Symptoms that persist beyond that window, or that meet full criteria for an anxiety disorder, call for re-evaluation of the diagnosis.

What does the F43.2 tabular entry include?

The FY2027 tabular list includes "Culture shock", "Grief reaction", and "Hospitalism in children" under F43.2, and carries an Excludes2 note for separation anxiety disorder of childhood (F93.0). Prolonged grief disorder has its own code, F43.81.

How is adjustment disorder with anxiety treated?

According to the Merck Manual, treatment focuses on self-care, and psychotherapy and medication may have a role but the evidence is limited. Cognitive behavioural, psychodynamic, family, interpersonal, and supportive therapies are all used. Benzodiazepines are often used for specific symptoms such as insomnia and anxiety, but evidence of their efficacy is mixed.

F43.22ICD-10-CMAdjustment Disorder With Anxiety

Official ICD-10-CM descriptor: Adjustment disorder with anxiety · Category header, not billable: use a more specific code

Anxiety symptoms, such as nervousness and worry, that begin within 3 months of an identifiable stressor, are out of proportion to it or impair functioning, and do not last more than 6 months after the stressor and its consequences end.

F43.22 at a glance

ICD-10-CM F43.22
Trauma
Category header, not billable: use a more specific code
Recommended screener
Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7)
View scale
Billing the screening
In the US, administering and scoring the scale usually bills under CPT 96127; the session itself under 90791 or 90834/90837. Coverage varies by payer.

DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria summary

Adjustment disorder requires:

Emotional or behavioural symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor, beginning within 3 months of the stressor.
Clinical significance: distress out of proportion to the stressor (considering cultural factors), significant impairment in functioning, or both.
Not another disorder: the symptoms do not meet criteria for another mental disorder and are not an exacerbation of an existing one.
Not normal grief: not better explained by normal bereavement or prolonged grief disorder.
Time-limited: once the stressor and its consequences end, symptoms do not persist more than 6 months.

For F43.22, anxiety is the predominant symptom, for example nervousness, worry, or jitteriness. The Merck Manual gives feeling nervous and jittery after a physical assault as an example.

Source: Barnhill, J. W. (2026). Adjustment disorders. Merck Manual Professional Edition, summarizing DSM-5-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2022).

Differential diagnosis

Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood (F43.21) or with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood (F43.23), when low mood is predominant or equally prominent.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (F41.1) and Anxiety Disorder, Unspecified (F41.9), anxiety not tied to a recent stressor.
Panic Disorder (F41.0), recurrent unexpected panic attacks.
PTSD (F43.10) and Acute Stress Reaction (F43.0), which require a traumatic stressor and have different time frames.
Separation Anxiety Disorder of Childhood (F93.0), excluded from F43.2 by an Excludes2 note.
Anxiety Disorder Due to Known Physiological Condition (F06.4), and substance-induced anxiety.

Common comorbidities

Adjustment disorder symptoms overlap with those of other common conditions (Casey, 2009). Track anxiety and depression scores over time, screen for suicide risk and substance use, and re-evaluate if symptoms persist past the expected window.

Documentation patterns

Initial visit: the identifiable stressor and its date, symptom onset relative to it, GAD-7 (and PHQ-9) scores, functional impact, and what has been ruled out.
Follow-up visits: repeat the GAD-7, note whether the stressor is ongoing or has ended, and record the date it ended so the 6-month limit can be tracked.

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Frequently asked questions

What is ICD-10 code F43.22?
F43.22 is the ICD-10-CM code for Adjustment disorder with anxiety. It sits in subcategory F43.2 (Adjustment disorders), within category F43 (Reaction to severe stress, and adjustment disorders). It applies when anxiety is the predominant response to an identifiable stressor.
Is F43.22 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
Yes, F43.22 is a billable code in the FY2027 ICD-10-CM code set (effective October 1, 2026). The other billable adjustment disorder codes are F43.20 (unspecified), F43.21 (with depressed mood), F43.23 (with mixed anxiety and depressed mood), F43.24 (with disturbance of conduct), F43.25 (with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct), and F43.29 (with other symptoms).
What are the diagnostic criteria for F43.22?
Under DSM-5-TR, adjustment disorder requires emotional or behavioural symptoms that begin within 3 months of a stressor and do not persist more than 6 months after the stressor ends. Symptoms must be clinically significant, shown by distress out of proportion to the stressor (taking culture into account), significant impairment in functioning, or both. They must not meet criteria for another disorder or be better explained by normal bereavement or prolonged grief disorder.
What is the difference between F43.22 and F43.23?
The fifth character names the predominant symptoms. F43.22 is adjustment disorder with anxiety, F43.21 is with depressed mood, and F43.23 is with mixed anxiety and depressed mood. Choose F43.22 when anxiety clearly predominates, and F43.23 when anxiety and low mood are both prominent.
What is the difference between F43.22 and F41.1?
F41.1 (Generalized anxiety disorder) is a specific anxiety disorder with its own criteria, including hard-to-control worry for at least 6 months. Category F41 carries an Excludes2 note for anxiety in transient adjustment reaction (F43.2). When anxiety follows an identifiable stressor within the time frame and does not meet criteria for another disorder, F43.22 is the code.
What scale is used to screen for F43.22?
There is no single standard screener for adjustment disorder; a dedicated tool is still being validated (Geer, 2023). In practice, the GAD-7 tracks the anxiety component. In its validation study, a score of 10 or higher had 89% sensitivity and 82% specificity for generalized anxiety disorder (Spitzer et al., 2006). Scores give a baseline and a way to show change, but do not make the diagnosis.
How long does adjustment disorder with anxiety last?
Symptoms typically begin within days of the stressful event, and by definition within 3 months. They resolve within 6 months of the end of the stressor and its consequences. Symptoms that persist beyond that window, or that meet full criteria for an anxiety disorder, call for re-evaluation of the diagnosis.
What does the F43.2 tabular entry include?
The FY2027 tabular list includes "Culture shock", "Grief reaction", and "Hospitalism in children" under F43.2, and carries an Excludes2 note for separation anxiety disorder of childhood (F93.0). Prolonged grief disorder has its own code, F43.81.
How is adjustment disorder with anxiety treated?
According to the Merck Manual, treatment focuses on self-care, and psychotherapy and medication may have a role but the evidence is limited. Cognitive behavioural, psychodynamic, family, interpersonal, and supportive therapies are all used. Benzodiazepines are often used for specific symptoms such as insomnia and anxiety, but evidence of their efficacy is mixed.

Sources

1. 1.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2026). ICD-10-CM Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries, FY2027 (effective October 1, 2026).
2. 2.Barnhill, J. W. (2026). Adjustment disorders. Merck Manual Professional Edition.
3. 3.Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092–1097.
1. 4.Casey, P. (2009). Adjustment disorder: Epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment. CNS Drugs, 23(11), 927–938.
2. 5.Geer, K. (2023). Adjustment disorder: Diagnosis and treatment in primary care. Primary Care, 50(1), 83–88.