Is the course of panic disorder the same in women and men?
Am J Psychiatry
; 155(5): 596-602, 1998 May.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-9585708
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Panic disorder with or without agoraphobia has a chronic relapsing course. Factors associated with poor outcome include early onset of illness and phobic avoidance. Several, but not all, authors have found a worse clinical course for women. Using observational, longitudinal data from the Harvard/Brown Anxiety Disorders Research Program, the authors analyzed remission and symptom recurrence rates in panic patients with respect to sex.METHOD:
Male and female patients (N = 412) in an episode of panic with or without agoraphobia were assessed by structured interview and prospectively followed for up to 5 years. Data on remission, symptom recurrence, and comorbid psychiatric conditions for each sex were compared.RESULTS:
There were no significant differences between men and women in panic symptoms or level of severity at baseline. Women were more likely to have panic with agoraphobia (85% versus 75%), while men were more likely to have uncomplicated panic (25% versus 15%). The rates of remission for panic with or without agoraphobia at 5 years were equivalent in men and women (39%). Of the subjects who achieved remission, 25% of the women and 15% of the men reexperienced symptoms by 6 months. Recurrence of panic symptoms continued to be higher in women (82%) than men (51%) during the follow-up period and was not influenced by concurrent agoraphobia.CONCLUSIONS:
This study extends previous findings by showing that not only are women more likely to have panic with concurrent agoraphobia, but they are more likely than men to suffer a recurrence of panic symptoms after remission of panic.
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Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Trastorno de Pánico
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
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Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Female
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Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Am J Psychiatry
Año:
1998
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos