title: Impulsivity in patients with panic disorder-agoraphobia: the role of cyclothymia.
abstract: The relationship between Panic Disorder (PD) and impulsivity is not well explored. The present investigation aims to compare impulsivity, measured by different rating tools, in PD patients vs. healthy controls and to explore the influence of co-morbid Cyclothymic Disorder (CD) on the relationship between PD and impulsivity. Sixty-four subjects with PD and 44 matched controls underwent a diagnostic and symptomatological evaluations by the Mini Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I) Plus 5.0; the Bech-Rafaelsen Depression and Mania Scale (BRDMS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Hypomania Check List (HCL-32) and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI); the Questionnaire for the Affective and Anxious Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego-Modified (TEMPS-M), the Separation Anxiety Sensitivity Index (SASI), the Interpersonal Sensitivity Symptoms Inventory (ISSI). Finally, psychometric and neurocognitive evaluations of impulsivity was carried out using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and the Immediate and Delayed Memory Task (IMT/DMT). Subjects with PD were more impulsive than the controls in all the explored measures, reporting higher scores in symptomatological and temperamental scales. The comparison between PD patients with (Cyclo+) and without (Cyclo-) comorbid CD and controls showed that Cyclo+ are the most impulsive subjects in all the investigated measures and are characterized by the greatest symptomatological impairment, the highest scores in temperamental scales, and the highest levels of interpersonal sensitivity and separation anxiety. In our patients with PD, without lifetime comorbidity with major mood episodes, trait and state impulsivity may be related to the presence of comorbid cyclothymic mood instability.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioural Sciences "G. De Lisio", - Via di Pratale, 3 Pisa, Italy; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, - Via Roma, 67 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Del Carlo
authors.forename: Marzia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benvenuti
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Toni
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dell'osso
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perugi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition; D003527:Cyclothymic Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013694:Temperament