title: The complex association of pulmonary function with panic disorder: a rejoinder to Ley (1998).
abstract: In a commentary on our paper entitled "Pulmonary function in panic disorder: evidence against the dyspnea-fear theory", Ley (1998) provides a critical analysis of our study. He concludes that our failed attempt to replicate a relationship between pulmonary function and the severity of panic-related symptoms in panic disorder patients may have been a consequence of a lack of comparability between studies, a statistical anomaly, and experimenter-demand effects. After discussing his comments (with most of them we do not agree) in depth, we maintain our conclusion that: (a) pulmonary impairment is not directly associated with panic symptoms; and (b) that the existence of a distinct subgroup of panic disorder patients with signs of actual airways obstruction leading to uncontrollable dyspnea and fear of suffocation remains questionable.
authors.affiliation: Leiden University, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Clinical and Health Psychology, The Netherlands. spinhoven@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spinhoven
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Sterk
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van der Kamp
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Onstein
mesh_terms: D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000523:psychology*; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*