COMORBID PANIC DISORDER IN PATIENTS WITH WINTER DEPRESSION

This study investigated the prevalence of comorbid panic disorder in p atients with recurrent wintertime episodes of major depression. The su bjects were 38 patients (10 male and 28 female) who met the DSM-III-R criteria for major depression with a seasonal pattern (wintertime depr ession). Diagnoses of panic disorder were made according to the DSM-II I-R criteria. Nine (23.7%) of the subjects (four women and five men) m et the criteria for panic disorder. Their panic attacks and depressive symptoms bad simultaneous onset in the fall or winter and remitted sp ontaneously in the spring. Patients with winter depression appear to b e at high risk for simultaneous panic disorder, consistent with result s from studies in which season of illness was not considered.