PREDICTORS OF OUTCOME IN PANIC DISORDER - A 5-YEAR PROSPECTIVE FOLLOW-UP-STUDY

A prospective 5-year follow-up study in patients with panic disorder w as carried out in order to determine predictors of outcome. 50 patient s presenting at an outpatient clinic for anxiety disorders were enrole d initially in a controlled treatment study using either imipramine or doxepin in addition to supportive psychotherapy and were then followe d under naturalistic treatment conditions. By means of multiple stepwi se regression analyses comorbidity with current depression, severity o f illness and agoraphobic avoidance turned out to be the strongest pre dictors. These data confirm the findings of shorter-term prospective f ollow-up studies and of retrospective studies. In contrast to several reports, illness-related social impairment at baseline was not found t o affect outcome.