title: Gender differences in panic disorder symptoms and illicit drug use among young people in Hungary.
abstract: The authors have investigated the frequency of illicit drug use, and spontaneous and drug-provoked panic disorder symptoms in Hungarian youths. A semi-structured self-reporting questionnaire (with questions about drug usage and the persistence of some DSM-IV panic disorder symptoms) was filled out in discos/nightclubs, secondary schools and universities. Almost 17% of the total sample (n = 1298) reported on illicit drug-use at least once in their life, and this rate was significantly higher among males. Regardless of the illegal drug use 14.6% of the total sample reported on four or more DSM-IV symptoms of panic disorder, and this rate was significantly higher among females. Analyzing the panic disorder symptoms only among drug-users (n = 219), the frequency of persons with four or more anxiety symptoms was 14.1% before drug use, and it increased to 30.6% during the period of drug use (P < 0.001). The findings support previous results showing (i) higher prevalence of anxiety symptoms among females; (ii) higher rate of illicit drug use among males; and (iii) a possible anxiety-provoking effect of illicit drugs.
authors.affiliation: In- and Outpatient Department of Psychiatry No. XIII, National Institute for Psychiatry and Neurology, 1281, Budapest 27, Huvösvölgyi u 116, Hungary.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kecskés
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rihmer
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kiss
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sárai
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szabó
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Kiss
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs