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A naturalistic 6‐year follow‐up study of patients with panic disorder
Author(s) -
Lepola U.,
Koponen H.,
Lein E.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1996.tb10628.x
Subject(s) - panic , panic disorder , alprazolam , depression (economics) , psychiatry , imipramine , research diagnostic criteria , medicine , psychology , pediatrics , anxiety , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , alternative medicine , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
Lepola U, Koponen H, Leinonen E. A naturalistic 6‐year follow‐up study of patients with panic disorder. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1996: 93: 181–183. © Munksgaard 1996. A clinical sample of 55 patients meeting the diagnostic criteria for panic disorder (PD) were enrolled in this long‐term study. The patients were treated initially with alprazolam or imipramine during a period of 9 weeks. A clinical psychiatric examination was carried out at the beginning and at the end of the initial treatment period and 3 and 6 years after the enrollment. Although most of the patients (74%) had no panic attacks at the end of the 6‐year follow‐up period, 9 (18%) had major depression and 6 (11%) severe suicidality. Seven of these depressive patients also suffered from alcoholism. Sixty per cent of the patients were still on medication at the end of the follow‐up. Depression, suicidality and alcoholism seem to be the long‐term consequences of PD.