Presence of panic disorder among medical patients referred to psychiatry.
Author: Suleiman, Radwan A., Ahmad, Tayseer F. E
Source:
Arab Journal of Psychiatry, Vol 4(2), Nov 1993: 84-92.
Studied the results of a retrospective application of the Panic Questionnaire and the Life Stressors Questionnaire on 50 patients (aged 18-50 yrs) with unexplained somatic symptoms referred for psychiatric consultation by other medical disciplines. The most common presenting symptoms were related to, head, chest, heart, and abdomen. Analysis revealed two groups of patients: 32 panic disorder patients and 18 non-panic patients. The panic group presented more frequent and severe somatic symptoms and they were associated with different life stressors. The results also indicate that the panic patients had more frequently utilized health services.