Fifty-five of 102 consecutively evaluated patients with panic disorder
seen in consultation at a specialty anxiety and mood disorders clinic
were reinterviewed from 15 to 60 months later after naturalistic trea
tment in the community. Over the follow-up period, most patients displ
ayed improvement in panic attack frequency and severity, phobic avoida
nce, depression, and major role functioning, although only five (10%)
were asymptomatic on all measures at follow-up. The majority of patien
t with impaired interpersonal functioning showed no improvement on thi
s measure. Thirty percent of the patients were panic-free at 12 months
and 28% at the time of follow-up, with 43% experiencing at least thre
e panic-free months during the follow-up period. Comorbid agoraphobia,
major depression, and Axis II disorders were associated with worse ou
tcome on selected measures of symptomatic and functional impairment Ho
wever, the strongest predictors of overall improvement were avoidance
coping for outcome at 12 months and Axis I comorbidity for outcome at
the time of the follow-up evaluation. Anxiety 2:13-21 (1996). (C) 1996
Wiley-Liss, Inc.