A NATURALISTIC 6-YEAR FOLLOW-UP-STUDY OF PATIENTS WITH PANIC DISORDER

clinical sample of 55 patients meeting the diagnostic criteria for pan ic disorder (PD) were enrolled in this long-term study. The patients w ere treated initially with alprazolam or imipramine during a period of 9 weeks. A clinical psychiatric examination was carried out at the be ginning and at the end of the initial treatment period and 3 and 6 yea rs after the enrollment. Although most of the patients (74%) had no pa nic attacks at the end of the 6-year follow-up period, 9 (18%) had maj or depression and 6 (11%) severe suicidality. Seven of these depressiv e patients also suffered from alcoholism. Sixty per cent of the patien ts were still on medication at the end of the follow-up. Depression, s uicidality and alcoholism seem to be the long-term consequences of PD.