The effects of cognitive-behavior therapy for panic disorder on comorbid conditions.
In a replication and extension of prior research (Brown, Antony, & Barlow, 1995) examining the impact of treatment on additional diagnoses, our study investigated the effects of cognitive-behavioral treatment for panic disorder on frequency and severity of comorbid conditions in 33 principal panic disorder patients. Patients were diagnosed using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Revised (ADIS-R; Di Nardo & Barlow, 1988) and assigned severity ratings indicating degree of distress and/or impairment for both principal panic disorder and comorbid conditions. A high rate of comorbidity (63.6%) was found at pretreatment. Following cognitive-behavioral treatment, there was a significant reduction in the number of patients with at least one additional diagnosis (p < .01); the greatest declines were found in comorbid social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder. Severity ratings also declined significantly from pre- to posttreatment for comorbid social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder (p < .01) and were marginally significant for depression. There was a trend for comorbidity to reduce likelihood of achieving high improvement in panic at posttreatment. Implications of these findings for classification and treatment mechanisms are discussed.
UCLA Anxiety Disorders Behavioral Program, Department of Psychology 90095-1563, USA. jtsao@ucla.edu
J C
JC
Tsao
M R
MR
Lewin
M G
MG
Craske
D000328:Adult; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome