Suspected causal association between cocaine use and occurrence of panic.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate a suspected causal association between cocaine use and the occurrence of panic.


METHODS
Data are from an epidemiologic sample of school-attending youths enrolled in primary school who were traced, rerecruited, and assessed via standardized interviews in young adulthood during 2000-2002. A total of 1,692 young adults comprised the analysis sample. Occurrences of panic and cocaine use were assessed in young adulthood, via standardized item sets from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. A brief assessment of panic experiences had also been made when the youths were in early adolescence.


RESULTS
With statistical adjustment for important covariates, we found a modestly excess occurrence of panic attack-like experiences among those who had used cocaine at least once, relative to occurrence among young people who never had used cocaine (estimated odds ratio, OR = 1.9; p = .014 before exclusion of 288 with early onset panic attack-like experiences; p = .005 after this exclusion).


CONCLUSIONS
The main finding of this study was an association linking cocaine use and panic attack-like experiences, which was more modest than was observed in study samples that included older adults.
Alvarado
G F
GF
Facultad de Salud Publica, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Storr
C L
CL
Anthony
J C
JC
D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008873:Mid-Atlantic Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult