WHAT IS THE LONG TERM COURSE OF PANIC DISORDER?
There is little data on the long term course of panic disorder. It has been accurately classified only since 1980 and few follow-up studies have been performed. 220 patients from the Cross-National Collaborative Panic Study were interviewed 2 to 6 years after participating in an 8 week trial of alprazolam, imipramine, and a placebo (Katschnig & Amering in Wolf & Maser). Results are summarized below: 39% had no panic attacks 60% had no or mild phobic avoidance 82% had no or mild work disability 45% were not taking medication 23% were taking benzodiazepines 12% were taking antidepressants 9% were taking benzodiazepines and antidepressants 11% were taking other psychoactive medications 31% recovered and stayed well 50% had recurrent or chronic moderate symptoms 19% had chronic severe symptoms no suicides were reported A two-year followup study was conducted on patients that received a 15 week panic control treatment (Barlow in Wolfe & Maser). 81% of the patients were panic free, and 50% a
