COMPARISON OF CLINICAL FEATURES OF PANICDISORDER PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT FAMILYHISTORY OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS

Abstract

Introduction: The large goal of this study elucidates the cause of panic disorder, and medical
people carry out the fundamental treatment and prevention for the disorder.
Purpose: One aim of this study was to investigate the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders (including
panic disorder) in first-degree relatives of panic disorder patients. Another aim of this study was to
examine the age at the onset of the first panic attack and the number of symptoms at onset in panic
disorder patients in order to better understand the in fluence of family history of psychiatric disorders
(including panic disorder).
Design: This is cross-sectional study.
Materials and Methods: The subjects were patients with panic disorder (n=149) seen at Warakukai
Incorporated Medical Institution Nagoya Mental Clinic. All patients met the criteria for the diagnosis of
panic disorder (lifetime) based on the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), which was
conducted in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition
Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). Statistical analyses in this study were performed using one-way analysis of
variance and multiple comparisons.
Results: Patients with panic disorder having a first-degree relative with panic disorder exhibited
early onset of that disorder (mean difference: 6.64, <0.05), but the results suggest that having a family
history of related psychiatric disorders other than panic disorder does not affect age at onset (mean
difference: 0.11, >0.05). In addition, patients with panic disorder having a first-degree relative with the
same disorder had a significantly greater number of symptoms during their first panic attack (mean
difference: -1.90, <0.05), but results suggest that having a family history of related psychiatric disorders
other than panic disorder does not affect the number of symptoms (mean difference: -0.84, >0.05).
Conclusion: These findings will help in the treatment of patients with panic disorder.
There are also several limitations to this study. In the future, we want to increase the number of
samples and produce further reports.