EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PANIC DISORDER - PROGRESS AND UNRESOLVED ISSUES

Recent epidemiological studies have consistently shown that panic diso rder, according to DSM-III, occurs in adults with a lifetime prevalenc e of about 2% and a 6-month prevalence of about 1.2%. Panic attacks ar e relatively common, with a lifetime rate of about 9%. Being female an d divorced and separated is associated with higher prevalence of panic disorder. The hazard rates for panic disorder were highest between th e ages of 25 and 34 years for females and between the ages of 30 and 4 4 years for males. Panic disorder frequently co-occurs with other anxi ety disorders as well as with a wide range of mental disorders such as depression and substance use disorder. Based on few epidemiological s tudies, panic disorder has been found to have a chronic course with ra re complete remission. Subjects with panic disorder were at an increas ed risk of social impairment, not getting along with their partners, a s well as being financially dependent, and were likely to report fair or poor global physical health, and emotional health. Cases with panic disorder had the most severe psychosocial impairment and the worst ou tcome as compared to other anxiety disorders. Moreover, they are high users of all types of medical services, including mental health and ge neral medical providers. Although recent epidemiological data, with it s improved methodology, have considerably increased our knowledge conc erning panic attack, panic disorder and agoraphobia, there are still m ajor questions concerning the etiology, natural history, prevention, o r control of panic disorder that need to be answered. Furthermore, sin ce panic disorder has been considered as developing in stages, our cur rent epidemiological knowledge cannot tell us in sufficient detail abo ut the specific role of suggested risk factors in the development of p anic disorder through its various stages.