Major depression in patients with social phobia

Article Abstract:

Depression has long been associated with panic disorders and agoraphobia, fear of being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult or where help may not be available if a panic attack occurs. Between 25 and 75 percent of patients with panic disorders also have a problem with depression. Another condition related to panic disorder is social phobia, a persistent fear of situations where there is the possibility of scrutiny by others or where the individual may be embarrassed or humiliated. Thus far, there is little research on the relationship between social phobia and panic disorder, but some studies have indicated that there is an overlap between the two conditions. The extent and incidence of depression were examined in 63 patients with social phobia and in 54 patients with panic disorder. The data were derived from diagnostic interviews that were conducted at an anxiety clinic, and individuals were selected on the basis of criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, third edition, revised (DSM-III-R). No significant differences in gender, martial status, or age were found. However, panic disorder was associated with a higher incidence of depression than was social phobia. Sixty-three percent (34 individuals) of the patients with panic disorders had experienced major depression, whereas only 35 percent (22 patients) with social phobia had experienced at least one major episode of depression. These results indicate that rates of major depression vary among anxiety disorders; this may also be related to the degree of functional impairment that the anxiety disorder causes. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Causes of, Complications and side effects, Depression, Mental, Depression (Mood disorder)

---

Panic disorder and the menstrual cycle: panic disorder patients, healthy control subjects, and patients with premenstrual syndrome

Article Abstract:

There is some evidence that the onset of the menstrual cycle exacerbates certain organic disorders. Likewise, some psychiatric conditions have been reported to be aggravated by the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. In previous studies of women with panic disorders, the participants have reported that their condition worsened during the premenstrual period. Panic disorder is an anxiety neurosis characterized by acute attacks of panic. The data were based upon the patients' recollections of their feelings and thus had to allow for inaccuracies of memory and various bias distortions. Three groups of 20 women with normal menstrual cycles were studied and evaluated for a minimum of two full cycles. Each group was to report daily on their anxiety levels and the incidence of panic attacks. The control group comprised healthy women without symptoms. The other two groups were respectively composed of women with a history of panic attacks and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). PMS is the experience of nervous tension, irritability, headache, and a variety of other symptoms just prior to the onset of menstruation; its precise cause is unknown. Only the women in the PMS group showed any correlation between anxiety or panic symptoms and premenstrual phase. These women reported an increase in symptoms prior to menstruation but the other two groups did not. There was no direct relationship between chronic panic attacks and menstrual cycle. It was concluded that panic disorder does not worsen premenstrually. However, this does not preclude any connection between female reproductive endocrine processes and panic disorder, as much is still unknown in these fields.

Psychological aspects, Menstrual cycle, Premenstrual syndrome

---

Infrequent occurrence of EEG abnormalities in panic disorder

Article Abstract:

Electroencephalograms (EEGs or brainwave charts) are records of the internal functioning of the brain. Patients with panic disorders frequently show abnormal EEGs, although few controlled studies have been conducted. The authors examined the EEGs of 35 medication-free patients with panic disorder. Only 14 percent had nonspecific abnormal EEGs and none of the EEGs suggested the presence of a stroke or epileptic seizure. The presence or absence of EEG abnormalities were not related to the presence or absence of psychosensory symptoms. It is unlikely that panic disorder is related to epilepsy. However, brain structures of the temporal lobe and limbic area probably play a major role in panic disorders. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research, Abnormalities, Electroencephalography

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Depressive symptoms and martial satisfaction: within-subject associations and the moderating effects of gender and neuroticism
• Abstracts: Varieties of religion-family linkages. Religion in the home in the 1980s and 1990s: a meta-analytic review and conceptual analysis of links between religion, marriage, and parenting
• Abstracts: Support in marriage: Factors associated with on-line perceptions of support helpfulness. Understanding infidelity: correlates in a national random sample
• Abstracts: Incremental validity of the Ego Impairment Index: it's fine when it's there. Incremental validity of the Ego Impairment Index: a re-examination of Dawes (1999)
• Abstracts: Transformational leadership in a management game simulation. Transformational leadership and the falling dominoes effect

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.