OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to examine the effects of 3 months of pharmacological treatment on anxiety sensitivity in patients with panic disorder. METHODS: Patients (N=32) who met DSM-IV criteria for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia were treated with paroxetine and/or benzodiazepines for 3 months. Symptom improvement was assessed by using PDSS (Panic Disorder Severity Scale), and anxiety sensitivity using Anxiety Sensitivity Index Revised (ASI-R), Agoraphobic Cognition Questionnaire (ACQ), Body Sensation Questionnaire (BSQ). Ttest, paired T-test, and paired F-test were performed. RESULTS: Patients with panic disorder showed significant reduction in the measurement of severity of illness and anxiety sensitivity after 3 months of pharmacotherapy. However, they still showed higher scores in the ASI-R and ACQ after 3 months of pharmacotherapy compared to normal control subjects. After pharmacotherapy, they showed significant changes in ASI-R after controlling for changes in ACQ and BSQ. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that short-term pharmacological treatment is effective on anxiety sensitivity reduction in panic disorder patients with or without agoraphobia. But this study doesn't show that short-term pharmacological treatment normalizes anxiety sensitivity to levels that are characteristic of normal control samples.
Agoraphobia ; Anxiety* ; Benzodiazepines ; Cognition ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Panic Disorder* ; Panic* ; Paroxetine ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sensation