G. Barzega, G. Maina, S. Venturello, A. Vitalucci, F. Bogetto - Vol. 5, Dicembre 1999, num.4
Testo Immagini Bibliografia Summary Riassunto Indice
Sintomatologia tipica e atipica nel
Disturbo di Panico (DP): differenze in relazione al genere
Typical and atypical symptomatology in Panic Disorder (PD): gender-related
differences
Introduction: epidemiological studies showed a higher prevalence of Panic Disorder (PD) in female than in male patients. Females are more likely to present concurrent Agoraphobia, while alcohol abuse is significantly more common among males; females also showed a more chronic course of illness and are more likely to suffer a recurrence of symptomatology after remission of PD.
Materials and methods: all subjects with a diagnosis of PD or PD with Agoraphobia, aged between 18 and 65 years, consecutively referred to the "Psychiatric unit for mood and anxiety disorder" (University of Turin, Italy) during the first semester of 1998 were admitted. All patients were assessed by a semistructured interview covering the following areas: 1) socio-demographic data; 2) clinical characteristics of PD (age at onset, symptoms, course); 3) comorbid Agoraphobia, providing data on temporal relationship between PD onset and Agoraphobia onset. Atypical symptoms of PD and Agoraphobia were also assessed according to the Structured Clinical Interview for Panic-Agoraphobic Spectrum (SCI-PAS). Patients were finally evaluated with the following rating scales: SCRAS, HAM-A, HAM-D. The sample was subdivided according to gender for statistical purposes; analysis of data has been carried-out with Student’s t-test and the c2-test.
Results: 64 patients with PD were admitted: 38 (59,4%) females and 26 (40,6%) males. There were no significant differences between males and females in socio-demographic data, but men were more likely to be in full-time work status. Mean age at onset was 32,1 (± 11.8) years, with out gender-related difference. Concurrent Agoraphobia was significantly more common among females. Cardiac symptoms and fear of dying during panic attack were more frequent among males, while females showed a higher mean number of symptoms during panic attack, particularly sweating, dizziness, flushes/chills and fear of loosing control. Mean scores on anxiety rating scales did not differ between the two groups, while female patients presented a significantly higher mean score on HAM-D. Mean duration of illness was longer in females.
Conclusions: data showed some interesting gender-related clinical differences in PD with or without Agoraphobia. Females presented a wider range of both typical and atypical symptoms of PD. They also were found to present at assessment time a significantly higher concurrent Agoraphobia rate and more severe demoralization.