title: Temperament and character dimensions and their relationship to major depression and panic disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since the first publication of Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality, the relationship between temperament and character dimensions and psychiatric disorders has been widely studied. The exact nature of this interaction, however, is still unclear. Different models have been proposed (state-dependency, vulnerability, continuous spectrum etc).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the relationship between temperament and character dimensions with depression and panic disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematic review on interventional studies published up until December 2011 on MEDLINE and ISI databases. Also, a brief review on genetic studies is hereby undertaken, aiming to discuss the gene-environment interaction in relation to this topic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen studies were included: 10 related to depression and 3 to panic disorder (or unspecific anxiety symptoms). All of them showed association between high harm avoidance (HA) and low self-directedness (SD) with depression and anxiety symptoms. Longitudinal studies demonstrated that these traits may not be just state-dependent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HA and SD dimensions are associated with both the occurrence of depressive and anxiety symptoms. There is also some evidence to suggest that high HA and low SD indicates susceptibility to depression. Longitudinal studies are not sufficient to affirm the same about panic disorder up to the present moment.
authors: Panic and Respiration Laboratory, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. marimochco@yahoo.com
authors: Marina Dyskant
authors: MD
authors: Mochcovitch
authors: Antonio Egidio
authors: AE
authors: Nardi
authors: Adriana
authors: A
authors: Cardoso
mesh_terms: D002605:Character; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D010552:Personality Assessment; D013694:Temperament