A breath-holding challenge in panic disorder patients, their healthy first-degree relatives, and normal controls.
Our aim was to observe the induction of panic attacks (PA) symptoms by a breath-hold test in panic disorder (PD) patients as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM-IV) and their healthy first-degree relatives. We randomly selected 26 PD patients, 28 healthy first-degree relatives of probands with PD and 25 normal volunteers with no family history of PD. They were induced to breath-hold for as long as possible four times with a two-min interval between them. Anxiety scales were applied before and after the test. Using specific PA criteria, 46.1% (n=12) PD patients, 7.1% (n=2) first-degree relatives and 4.0% (n=1) control subjects had a PA after the test (chi(2)=7.82, df=2, P=0.023). There was no heart rate, anxiety levels or breath-hold time differences among the groups. In this breath hold challenge test PD patients were more sensitive to breath-hold than first-degree relatives and normal volunteers.
Nardi
Antonio E
AE
Laboratory of Panic and Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. aenardi@novanet.com.br
Nascimento
Isabella
I
Valença
Alexandre M
AM
Lopes
Fabiana L
FL
Zin
Walter A
WA
Mezzasalma
Marco A
MA
Versiani
Marcio
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012119:Respiration