title: The quality of life and employment in panic disorder.
abstract: Our purpose was to measure quality of life (QOL) and work productivity (WP) in persons with panic disorder. Eighty-four panic disorder patients with limited psychiatric comorbidity for ten U.S. outpatient mental health centers were evaluated in a cross-sectional design. Patients self-administered the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and Work Productivity and Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire. The independent effects of psychiatric comorbidity were addressed through entry criteria, stratification, and regression analyses. QOL scores are significantly below age and sex-adjusted population norms on all SF-36 measures (p < .01). We note far greater impairment on measures of mental and emotional versus physical well-being. The unemployment rate among these patients is 25%, and only 57% are employed full-time. Those who are employed rated their WP as low. This sample of outpatients suffer marked QOL and employment impairment, which is only partially explained by the presence of psychiatric comorbidity.
authors.affiliation: Panic, Anxiety, and Depression Center of Virginia, Richmond, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ettigi
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Meyerhoff
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Chirban
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004526:Efficiency; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014937:Work