Clinical subtypes in panic disorder: their descriptive and prospective validity.
In a sample of 97 patients with panic attacks, presence of agoraphobia was associated with a more severe syndrome of panic anxiety both at index assessment and during one-year follow-up but was not associated with increased incidence of major depression. Groups with a history of depression--primary or secondary to the onset of panic--did not differ from the group without depression when severity of anxiety was concerned but were more severely impaired and had a higher incidence of further depressive episodes during follow-up. For future classification of panic disorder, subtypes defined according to associated syndromes of agoraphobia or depression are proposed, since these conditions appear constant through follow-up.
D000328:Adult; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000150:complications; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000145:classification* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010200:Panic; D011446:Prospective Studies