Plasma neuropeptide Y in anxiety disorders: findings in panic disorder and social phobia

AbstractPeople with anxiety disorders demand psychological attention most often. Therefore, it seems important to identify both the characteristics of the patients who demand help and the clinical variables related to that demand and its treatment. A cohort of 292 patients who requested help at a university clinical facility was studied. The typical profile of the patient was: being female, young, unmarried, with some college education, and having previously received treatment, especially pharmacological one. The three most frequent diagnoses of anxiety, which include 50% of the cases, were: Anxiety Disorder not otherwise specified, Social Phobia, and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia. Regarding the characteristics of the intervention, the average duration of the assessment was 3.5 sessions (SD = 1.2), and the duration of the treatment was 14 sessions (SD = 11.2). The percentage of discharges was 70.2%. The average cost of treatment was around €840. The results are discussed, underlining the value of empirically supported treatments for anxiety disorders.

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Childhood history of anxiety disorders among adults with social phobia: Rates, correlates, and comparisons with patients with panic disorder

Depression and Anxiety ◽

10.1002/da.1068 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 209-213 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Michael W. Otto ◽

Mark H. Pollack ◽

Kristin M. Maki ◽

Robert A. Gould ◽

John J. Worthington ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Panic Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Social Phobia ◽

History Of

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Safety-Seeking Behaviours: Fact or Function? How Can We Clinically Differentiate Between Safety Behaviours and Adaptive Coping Strategies Across Anxiety Disorders?

Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy ◽

10.1017/s1352465804001985 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 177-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 83

Author(s):

Richard Thwaites ◽

Mark H. Freeston

Keyword(s):

Clinical Practice ◽

Panic Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Social Phobia ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Adaptive Coping ◽

Specific Context ◽

The Individual ◽

Difficult Issue

Safety-seeking behaviours are seen as playing a key role in the maintenance of various anxiety disorders. This article examines their role in panic disorder and social phobia and suggests that, whilst there are clear theoretical differences between safety-seeking behaviours and adaptive coping strategies, the difficult issue in clinical practice is being able to distinguish between the two. It builds on previous work by Salkovskis and colleagues and provides a detailed discussion of the problems in distinguishing between safety-seeking behaviours (direct avoidance, escape and subtle avoidance) and adaptive coping strategies in clinical practice. The suggestion is made that topology can only be a guide to categorizing the two types of responses and they can only be fully distinguished by taking into account the intention of the individual and their perceived function to that individual in the specific context. It is suggested that further analysis of the use of safety-seeking behaviours aimed at avoiding a variety of outcomes at differing levels of catastrophe may provide useful information that would clarify our understanding of the role of such behaviours in maintaining anxiety disorders.

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Self-Schemas in Social Phobia and Panic Disorder

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1999.84.3.843 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 84 (3) ◽

pp. 843-854 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jan K. van Niekerk ◽

André T. Möller ◽

Charl Nortje

Keyword(s):

Panic Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Social Phobia ◽

Cognitive Theory ◽

Naming Task ◽

Color Naming ◽

The Self ◽

Modified Stroop ◽

Physical Threat ◽

Naming Latencies

A modified Stroop color-naming task was used to investigate whether social phobia and panic disorder are associated with a hypervigilance to social and physical threat-related cues, respectively, as predicted by Beck's cognitive theory of anxiety disorders. Color-naming latencies of 13 individuals with social phobia and 15 with panic disorder for words representing social and physical threats, respectively, were compared to matched neutral control words. The results did not support the hypothesis that the self-schemas of individuals with panic disorder are hypersensitive to information association with physical threat and that persons with social phobia are overly concerned with social threat.

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Impact of Childhood Trauma on the Course of Panic Disorder

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.223 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S69-S69

Author(s):

M. De Venter ◽

F. Van Den Eede ◽

T. Pattyn ◽

K. Wouters ◽

D. Veltman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Panic Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Social Phobia ◽

Childhood Trauma ◽

Clinical Course ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Diagnostic Interview ◽

Anxiety Symptoms ◽

The Impact

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of childhood trauma on the clinical course of panic disorder.MethodLongitudinal data of 539 participants with a current panic disorder were collected from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). Childhood trauma was assessed with a structured interview and clinical course after two years with a DSM-IV-based diagnostic interview and the Life Chart Interview.ResultsAt baseline, 56.3% reported childhood trauma, but this was not predictive of persistence of panic disorder. Emotional neglect and psychological abuse were associated with higher occurrence of anxiety disorders other than panic disorder (social phobia) and with higher chronicity of general anxiety symptoms (anxiety attacks or episodes and avoidance). Baseline clinical features (duration and severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms) and personality traits (neuroticism and extraversion) accounted for roughly 30 to 60% of the total effect of childhood trauma on chronicity of anxiety symptoms and on occurrence of other anxiety disorders.ConclusionAfter two years, childhood trauma is associated with chronicity of anxiety symptoms and occurrence of social phobia, rather than persistence of panic disorder. These relationships are partially accounted for by duration and severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and neuroticism and extraversion.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Co-morbid anxiety disorders in bipolar disorder and major depression: familial aggregation and clinical characteristics of co-morbid panic disorder, social phobia, specific phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291711002637 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 42 (7) ◽

pp. 1449-1459 ◽

Cited By ~ 66

Author(s):

F. S. Goes ◽

M. G. McCusker ◽

O. J. Bienvenu ◽

D. F. MacKinnon ◽

F. M. Mondimore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Panic Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Social Phobia ◽

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Familial Aggregation ◽

Specific Phobia ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Co Morbidity

BackgroundCo-morbidity of mood and anxiety disorders is common and often associated with greater illness severity. This study investigates clinical correlates and familiality of four anxiety disorders in a large sample of bipolar disorder (BP) and major depressive disorder (MDD) pedigrees.MethodThe sample comprised 566 BP families with 1416 affected subjects and 675 MDD families with 1726 affected subjects. Clinical characteristics and familiality of panic disorder, social phobia, specific phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were examined in BP and MDD pedigrees with multivariate modeling using generalized estimating equations.ResultsCo-morbidity between mood and anxiety disorders was associated with several markers of clinical severity, including earlier age of onset, greater number of depressive episodes and higher prevalence of attempted suicide, when compared with mood disorder without co-morbid anxiety. Familial aggregation was found with co-morbid panic and OCD in both BP and MDD pedigrees. Specific phobia showed familial aggregation in both MDD and BP families, although the findings in BP were just short of statistical significance after adjusting for other anxiety co-morbidities. We found no evidence for familiality of social phobia.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that co-morbidity of MDD and BP with specific anxiety disorders (OCD, panic disorder and specific phobia) is at least partly due to familial factors, which may be of relevance to both phenotypic and genetic studies of co-morbidity.

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The prediction of response in the anxiety disorders

Acta Neuropsychiatrica ◽

10.1017/s0924270800037029 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 102-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

B.R. Slaap ◽

I.M. van Vliet ◽

H.G.M. Westenberg ◽

J.A. den Boer

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Heart Rate ◽

Panic Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Social Phobia ◽

Illness Severity ◽

Prediction Of Response ◽

Psychometric Scales ◽

Plasma Mhpg

SummaryIn this review the results are discussed on the prediction of response to pharmacotherapy in panic disorder (PD) and social phobia (SP). From the literature it appears that in PD variables indicative of illness severity are predictors of non-response. In our own studies we found that non-responders to pharmacotherapy in PD are characterised by a higher score on the Blood-Injury subscale of the Fear Questionnaire, a higher plasma MHPG and a higher heart rate. In SP non-responders to pharmacotherapy were also characterised by a higher heart rate. They also appeared to have a higher blood pressure. Furthermore non-responders to pharmacotherapy in SP had higher scores on several psychometric scales, indicative of illness severity.

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Construcción de una nueva escala en español para medir ansiedad.

Revista de Neuro-Psiquiatria ◽

10.20453/rnp.v74i2.1680 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 74 (2) ◽

pp. 230-241

Author(s):

Johann Vega Dienstmaier

Keyword(s):

Panic Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Social Phobia ◽

Psychiatric Patients ◽

Factorial Structure ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Different Types ◽

Frequent Items ◽

Selection Of

Objective: To construct a scale to evaluate the symptomatology of the different types of anxiety disorders. Materialand Method: After reviewing 25 instruments that assess nonspecific anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD),panic disorder, agoraphobia and other phobias, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive-disorder (OCD) and posttraumaticstress disorder (PTSD), new items were created and ordered according to the different types of anxiety symptomsand then on the frequency which its content appeared in the reviewed scales. Later, a scale was generated alternatingitems of different anxiety types beginning with the most frequent items of each category. Results: A new anxietyscale of 130 items was created (25 of nonspecific anxiety, 19 of GAD, 33 of panic disorder, agoraphobia and otherphobias, 29 of social phobia, 11 of OCD, and 13 of PTSD). Conclusions: This is the first step to create this newanxiety scale. Its application to healthy subjects and psychiatric patients with and without anxiety disorders toevaluate its psychometric features (factorial structure, internal consistency and validity), and later the modification,deletion and selection of items to generate a simpler and more useful scale, are pending.

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Anxiety in middle adulthood: effects of age and time on the 14-year course of panic disorder, social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291708003954 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 615-624 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

H. J. Ramsawh ◽

S. D. Raffa ◽

M. Orlando Edelen ◽

R. Rende ◽

M. B. Keller

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Panic Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Social Phobia ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Short Interval ◽

Outcome Variable ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Over Time

BackgroundMuch about the long-term course of anxiety disorders is unknown. The present study utilizes a naturalistic, longitudinal, short-interval follow-up design to elucidate the course of anxiety disorders over 14 years in a largely middle-aged adult sample recruited from out-patient psychiatry and primary care facilities.MethodThe sample consisted of 453 participants with a diagnosis of panic disorder (PD), social phobia (SP) and/or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Anxiety symptom ratings were tracked using weekly psychiatric status ratings (PSRs). Controlling for demographic and clinical variables, the course of PD, GAD and SP were examined using longitudinal growth models, with the most severe PSR at each follow-up point as the main outcome variable.ResultsPSRs significantly decreased in severity over time in each of the three disorders. In the interaction effects models, age×time had a significant effect on course for PD and GAD, but not for SP, in that older age was associated with lower PSRs over time.ConclusionsThe present findings suggest that the severity of anxiety disorders declines over time, although this decline is modest and depends on the specific disorder being assessed. Older individuals with PD and GAD have a better prognosis than their younger counterparts, as their course is characterized by a steeper decline in severity. The present findings provide important information about the course of anxiety disorders in mid-life.

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Intervention based on functional analytic psychotherapy in a case of panic disorder with agoraphobia

Revista Brasileira de Terapia Comportamental e Cognitiva ◽

10.31505/rbtcc.v14i1.509 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fernanda Augustini Pezzato ◽

Alessandra Salina Brandão ◽

Claudia Kami Bastos Oshiro

Keyword(s):

Panic Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Therapeutic Process ◽

Therapeutic Strategies ◽

Behavioral Pattern ◽

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy ◽

Coping Responses ◽

And Coping ◽

Relationship Of ◽

Escape Behaviors

Therapeutic strategies described as effective for anxiety disorders include behavioral and cognitive-behavioral procedures of exposure and coping of aversive situations. However, considering that the behavioral pattern common in anxiety disorders is the phobic avoidance, the application of these strategies may difficult the adhesion or promote escape and avoidance of the therapeutic process. The Functional Analytic Psychotherapy is an alternative for dealing with these avoidance/escape behaviors and it can promote coping responses. This case report describes an analysis of the therapeutic relationship of a client with Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia. The intervention based on FAP was considered to help dealing with the avoidance behavior in the therapeutic process. Results show the efficacy of the procedures adopted and confirm the possibility of using FAP for improving the effectiveness of the empirically based psychotherapies.

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