NONPSYCHIATRIC MEDICAL COMORBIDITY, HEALTH PERCEPTIONS, AND TREATMENTOUTCOME IN PATIENTS WITH PANIC DISORDER

Panic disorder is frequently complicated by high rates of co-occurring nonpsychiatric medical conditions. The present study examined the rel ationship between medical morbidity, perceived physical health, and tr eatment outcome in panic disorder. Patients meeting the American Psych iatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disor ders (1994) criteria for panic disorder (N = 71) completed 12 sessions of cognitive-behavioral treatment and were assessed at posttreatment and 6-month follow-up. Medical comorbidity and perceived health were b oth found to be related to end-state functioning. Medical comorbidity did not uniquely predict outcome beyond its shared variance with perce ived health. At posttreatment, 71% of patients who perceived their phy sical health as good met recovery criteria compared with only 35% of t hose who perceived their health as poor. At follow-up, 67% of those wh o perceived their physical health as good met composite recovery crite ria compared with only 33% of those with perceived poor health. These findings offer preliminary support for the impact of physical health, both actual and perceived, on treatment outcome of patients with panic disorder.