THE RELATIONSHIP OF SYMPTOMATOLOGY TO IMPAIRMENT IN PATIENTS WITH PANIC DISORDER

This study evaluates the relationship between panic symptomatology and impairment in a clinical sample. The study sample consists of 77 outp atients who presented for treatment of panic disorder. The measure of impairment, the Sheehan Disability Scale, is a composite measure of so cial, family and vocational impairment. Three DSM-III-R symptom criter ia, frequency of attacks, percent of time spent worrying about the nex t attack and phobic anxiety are significantly related to impairment. T hirty-seven percent of the variance in impairment is accounted for by these symptom measures. We conclude that panic disorder symptomatology is positively associated with impairment. That is, more severe sympto matology is associated with greater impairment. However, the symptoms of panic psychopathology do not fully explain impairment in patients w ith panic disorder. We speculate that other aspects of the medical his tory such as comorbidity, duration of illness and treatment history wo uld account for further variance in impairment.