title: Lack of association between joint hyperlaxity and, I: panic disorder, and II: reactivity to carbon dioxide in healthy volunteers.
abstract: This study attempted to replicate previous reports of associations between panic disorder and joint hyperlaxity. The authors also examined possible associations between reacitivity to carbon dioxide (CO(2)), a model for panic vulnerability, and hyperlaxity in healthy volunteers. One hundred and one patients with DSM-IV panic disorder and 39 healthy volunteers were assessed for hyperlaxity by Beighton's criteria. Healthy volunteers also received two vital capacity inhalations of CO(2). Thirteen (13%) patients had five or more hyperlax joints. This rate did not differ from that in the healthy volunteers. Anxiety in healthy volunteers, as measured by the NIMH self-rating scale, DSM-IV panic symptom scores, and 100 mm visual analog scales of anxiety, increased after CO(2) from a mean of 1.8 to 2.8 (not significant); from 0.5 to 4 ( p < 0.001) and from 8.7 to 11.6 mm ( p < 0.1), respectively. There were no associations between responses to CO(2) and hyperlaxity. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Department, Barzilai Medical Centre, Ashkelon, Israel.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: Itzhak Z
authors.initials: IZ
authors.lastname: Ben-Zion
authors.forename: Pinhas
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dannon
authors.forename: Shaul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schreiber
authors.forename: Gal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meiri
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ofek
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palatnik