The relationship of separation anxiety with the age of onset of panic disorder
The relationship of separation anxiety with the age of onset of panic disorder
AIM: This study aimed to investigate whether separation anxiety (SA) constitutes a dimension related to age at onset of panic disorder (PD), in homogeneous subgroups of outpatients with PD, based on their age of onset and symptom severity.
METHODS: A sample of 232 outpatients with PD was assessed with the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) and the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) for functional impairments. Separation anxiety was evaluated using structured interviews and questionnaires. We applied a K-Means Cluster Analysis based on the standardized "PD age of onset" and "the PDSS total score" to identify distinct but homogeneous groups.
RESULTS: We identified three groups of patients: group 1 ("PD early onset/severe", N = 97, 42%, onset 23.2 ± 6.7 years), group 2 ("PD early onset/not severe", N = 76, 33%, onset 23.4 ± 6.0 years) and group 3 ("PD adult onset/not severe", N = 59, 25%, onset 42.8 ± 7.0 years). Patients with early onset/severe PD had significantly higher scores on all SA measures than PD late-onset/not severe. Regression analyses showed that SA scores, but not PDSS scores, were predictive of impairment in SDS work/school, social life, and family functioning domains.
CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate a significant relationship between SA and PD with an earlier age of onset and an impact on individual functioning. This may have important implications for implementing preventive interventions targeting early risk factors for the subsequent onset of PD.
age of onset, anxiety disorders, panic disorder, separation anxiety
1172-1179
Pini, Stefano
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Milrod, Barbara
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Baldwin, David S
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Schiele, Miriam A
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Massimetti, Gabriele
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Costa, Barbara
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Martini, Claudia
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Bandelow, Borwin
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Domschke, Katharina
a95f773b-9987-4a3d-9358-d38ddc5c5b5f
Abelli, Marianna
78a81f68-653b-465a-a7e9-548140adb6bd
December 2023
Pini, Stefano
d2917a4b-e216-404e-aaff-1c9f5ecb202d
Milrod, Barbara
9ec104f5-8927-4123-bbd7-12f56c79a6b2
Baldwin, David S
1beaa192-0ef1-4914-897a-3a49fc2ed15e
Schiele, Miriam A
3ed65c71-24c9-44ba-a32d-33d630901959
Massimetti, Gabriele
03cd35f7-2547-4b0b-95ac-f815a0dc3cff
Costa, Barbara
29f19721-0ba0-4b9c-bdda-ba9611cd912c
Martini, Claudia
7fd48a13-9cfc-4329-b3a3-304e882f68a2
Bandelow, Borwin
2fbbae21-629e-4d76-b5d0-7dff1282d64d
Domschke, Katharina
a95f773b-9987-4a3d-9358-d38ddc5c5b5f
Abelli, Marianna
78a81f68-653b-465a-a7e9-548140adb6bd
Pini, Stefano, Milrod, Barbara, Baldwin, David S, Schiele, Miriam A, Massimetti, Gabriele, Costa, Barbara, Martini, Claudia, Bandelow, Borwin, Domschke, Katharina and Abelli, Marianna
(2023)
The relationship of separation anxiety with the age of onset of panic disorder.
Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 17 (12), .
(doi:10.1111/eip.13419).
Abstract
AIM: This study aimed to investigate whether separation anxiety (SA) constitutes a dimension related to age at onset of panic disorder (PD), in homogeneous subgroups of outpatients with PD, based on their age of onset and symptom severity.
METHODS: A sample of 232 outpatients with PD was assessed with the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) and the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) for functional impairments. Separation anxiety was evaluated using structured interviews and questionnaires. We applied a K-Means Cluster Analysis based on the standardized "PD age of onset" and "the PDSS total score" to identify distinct but homogeneous groups.
RESULTS: We identified three groups of patients: group 1 ("PD early onset/severe", N = 97, 42%, onset 23.2 ± 6.7 years), group 2 ("PD early onset/not severe", N = 76, 33%, onset 23.4 ± 6.0 years) and group 3 ("PD adult onset/not severe", N = 59, 25%, onset 42.8 ± 7.0 years). Patients with early onset/severe PD had significantly higher scores on all SA measures than PD late-onset/not severe. Regression analyses showed that SA scores, but not PDSS scores, were predictive of impairment in SDS work/school, social life, and family functioning domains.
CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate a significant relationship between SA and PD with an earlier age of onset and an impact on individual functioning. This may have important implications for implementing preventive interventions targeting early risk factors for the subsequent onset of PD.
Text
Pini-SepAnx-Panic-AOO-2023
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 28 March 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 12 April 2023
Published date: December 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent the views of supporting organization. Open Access Funding provided by Universita degli Studi di Pisa within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.
Funding Information:
This work was in part supported by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di La Spezia (to MS).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Early Intervention in Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
Keywords:
age of onset, anxiety disorders, panic disorder, separation anxiety
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Local EPrints ID: 476778
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/476778
ISSN: 1751-7885
PURE UUID: fc97111b-df64-4a72-9e05-99c3921ce1df
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Date deposited: 15 May 2023 17:09
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:41
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Contributors
Author:
Stefano Pini
Author:
Barbara Milrod
Author:
Miriam A Schiele
Author:
Gabriele Massimetti
Author:
Barbara Costa
Author:
Claudia Martini
Author:
Borwin Bandelow
Author:
Katharina Domschke
Author:
Marianna Abelli
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