Demographic and clinical features of panic disorder comorbid with bipolar I disorder: a 3-year retrospective study.
BACKGROUND
Mood disorders are considered related to anxiety disorders and their association may determine clinical course and prognosis. We aimed to describe with retrospective methodology the demographic, clinical, and treatment features in a group of panic disorder comorbid with bipolar I disorder (PD-BI) patients who were been treated for at least 3 year-period and compare them with bipolar I (BI) patients who were treated during the same period.


METHODS
We compared the demographic and clinical data of 26 PD-BI, 28 BI, and 25 panic disorder (PD) outpatients without history of comorbidity with mood disorder were diagnosed and treated for at least 3 years in the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.


RESULTS
PD group have a higher educational level, are more married, and are more economically active. In the PD-BI and BI patients the disorders started earlier. They also turn out to have an equivalent pattern in the presence of drug abuse episodes, moderate or severe depressive episodes, psychotic episodes, suicide attempts, maniac episodes, mixed episodes, use of fewer days of antidepressants and benzodiazepines, and use of more days of antipsychotics and mood stabilizers. The PD-BI and the BI groups had a higher frequency of depressive episodes and psychotic episodes.


CONCLUSIONS
It is a retrospective data description based on a naturalistic treatment. The sample has a small size and the some data could be different in a large sample.


CONCLUSIONS
PD-BI patients have demographic, clinical and therapeutic features similar to BI and the data support its validation as a special severe bipolar I disorder subgroup.
Nardi
Antonio Egidio
AE
Laboratory of Panic & Respiration, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. antonionardi@terra.com.br
Nascimento
Isabella
I
Freire
Rafael C
RC
Veras
André B
AB
de-Melo-Neto
Valfrido L
VL
Valença
Alexandre M
AM
Lopes
Fabiana L
FL
Soares-Filho
Gastão L
GL
Levitan
Michelle N
MN
de Carvalho
Marcele R
MR
da Costa
Rafael T
RT
King
Anna Lucia
AL
Mezzasalma
Marco A
MA
Grivet
Leila O
LO
Rassi
Arabella
A
Versiani
Marcio
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001938:Brazil; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D001569:Benzodiazepines