-
Journal of Affective Disorders Nov 2020Precisely how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted mental health worldwide is currently poorly understood. The study aimed to assess panic and anxiety among individuals in...
BACKGROUND
Precisely how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted mental health worldwide is currently poorly understood. The study aimed to assess panic and anxiety among individuals in the general Bangladesh population early in the COVID-19 outbreak.
METHODOLOGY
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from March 29 to April 06, 2020, involving 1311 community-dwelling individuals aged between 13 and 63 years and residing in Bangladesh. After providing informed consent, participants completed an online survey assessing socio-demographic variables and using the Panic Disorder Severity Scale and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) to assess panic and anxiety symptomatology, respectively. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted.
RESULTS
Estimates of panic and generalized anxiety were 79.6%, and 37.3%, respectively. Factors statistically predicting panic were being older (more than 30 years), having higher education (above bachelor), being married, and living with a joint family. Factors statistically predicting generalized anxiety were being female, being older (more than 30 years), having higher education (above bachelor), being married, being a non-governmental employee.
LIMITATIONS
As this study employs the cross-sectional and self-reported measures, causal inferences cannot be indicated. Sampling biases may have influenced estimates of panic and generalized anxiety.
CONCLUSION
Sizable proportions of respondents reported panic and generalized anxiety in the setting of COVID-19. The findings suggest the need for additional surveillance of panic and generalized anxiety through longitudinal assessments. Evidence-based intervention programs and supportive services to address panic and generalized anxiety appear important for Bangladeshi individuals during this stage (and likely later stages) of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety; Bangladesh; Betacoronavirus; COVID-19; Coronavirus Infections; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease Outbreaks; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Online Systems; Pandemics; Panic; Pilot Projects; Pneumonia, Viral; SARS-CoV-2; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
PubMed: 32697713
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.049 -
Canadian Family Physician Medecin de... Oct 2007To describe for family physicians screening, diagnosis, and treatment of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD/A). (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To describe for family physicians screening, diagnosis, and treatment of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD/A).
QUALITY OF EVIDENCE
Articles were identified through PsycLIT, PsyINFO, and MEDLINE (1985 to 2006) using the terms panic disorder, psychotherapy, psychosocial treatment, treatment, and pharmacotherapy. Recommendations on treatment choices and guidelines are based on data from high-quality studies only. Information about assessment and diagnosis of PD/A is supported by the most recent epidemiologic studies, as well as expert consensus and opinion.
MAIN MESSAGE
Panic disorder with or without agoraphobia is a psychiatric disease frequently encountered in primary care. It appears to be underdiagnosed and undertreated in this medical setting. Early successful screening requires a focus on unexplained symptoms and specific questions aimed at identifying panic attacks and their meaning for patients. The treatment of choice for PD/A is cognitive-behavioral therapy administered by a specialized psychologist or psychiatrist. When such therapy is hard to come by or unavailable, family physicians can prescribe drug therapy.
CONCLUSION
Family physicians can contribute greatly to early detection and treatment of PD/A.
Topics: Agoraphobia; Family Practice; Humans; Panic Disorder; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Psychological Techniques; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
PubMed: 17934032
DOI: No ID Found -
PloS One 2022Shopping behaviour in response to extreme events is often characterized as "panic buying" which connotes irrationality and loss of control. However, "panic buying" has...
Shopping behaviour in response to extreme events is often characterized as "panic buying" which connotes irrationality and loss of control. However, "panic buying" has been criticized for attributing shopping behaviour to people's alleged psychological frailty while ignoring other psychological and structural factors that might be at play. We report a qualitative exploration of the experiences and understandings of shopping behaviour of members of the public at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 23 participants, we developed three themes. The first theme addresses people's understandings of "panic buying". When participants referred to "panic buying" they meant observed product shortages (rather than the underlying psychological processes that can lead to such behaviours), preparedness behaviours, or emotions such as fear and worry. The second theme focuses on the influence of the media and other people's behaviour in shaping subsequent shopping behaviours. The third theme addresses the meaningful motivations behind increased shopping, which participants described in terms of preparedness; some participants reported increased shopping behaviours as a response to other people stockpiling, to reduce their trips to supermarkets, or to prepare for product shortages and longer stays at home. Overall, despite frequently using the term 'panic', the irrationalist connotations of "panic buying" were largely absent from participants' accounts. Thus, "panic buying" is not a useful concept and should not be used as it constructs expected responses to threat as irrational or pathological. It can also facilitate such behaviours, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Topics: Anxiety; COVID-19; Consumer Behavior; Fear; Hoarding; Humans; Pandemics; Panic; Public Opinion
PubMed: 35213639
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264618 -
Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria (Sao... 2013
Topics: Carbon Dioxide; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Lactic Acid; Panic Disorder
PubMed: 24142079
DOI: 10.1590/1516-4446-2013-3502 -
Biological Psychiatry Sep 2011Panic is characterized as a disorder of interoceptive physiologic hyperarousal, secondary to persistent anticipation of panic attacks. The novel aim of this research was... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
BACKGROUND
Panic is characterized as a disorder of interoceptive physiologic hyperarousal, secondary to persistent anticipation of panic attacks. The novel aim of this research was to investigate whether severity of agoraphobia within panic disorder covaries with the intensity of physiological reactions to imagery of panic attacks and other aversive scenarios.
METHODS
A community sample of principal panic disorder (n = 112; 41 without agoraphobia, 71 with agoraphobia) and control (n = 76) participants imagined threatening and neutral events while acoustic startle probes were presented and the eye-blink response (orbicularis oculi) recorded. Changes in heart rate, skin conductance level, and facial expressivity were also measured.
RESULTS
Overall, panic disorder patients exceeded control participants in startle reflex and heart rate during imagery of standard panic attack scenarios, concordant with more extreme ratings of aversion and emotional arousal. Accounting for the presence of agoraphobia revealed that both panic disorder with and without situational apprehension showed the pronounced heart rate increases during standard panic attack imagery observed for the sample as a whole. In contrast, startle potentiation to aversive imagery was more robust in those without versus with agoraphobia. Reflex diminution was most dramatic in those with the most pervasive agoraphobia, coincident with the most extreme levels of comorbid broad negative affectivity, disorder chronicity, and functional impairment.
CONCLUSIONS
Principal panic disorder may represent initial, heightened interoceptive fearfulness and concomitant defensive hyperactivity, which through progressive generalization of anticipatory anxiety ultimately transitions to a disorder of pervasive agoraphobic apprehension and avoidance, broad dysphoria, and compromised mobilization for defensive action.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Adult; Agoraphobia; Anticipation, Psychological; Blinking; Emotions; Facial Expression; Female; Galvanic Skin Response; Heart Rate; Humans; Imagination; Male; Panic Disorder; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Reflex, Startle; Severity of Illness Index
PubMed: 21550590
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.03.005 -
Scientific Reports Oct 2023Taking major emergencies as the research background, the transmission mechanism for panic spread and the decision behaviour of the opinion field are explored in this...
Taking major emergencies as the research background, the transmission mechanism for panic spread and the decision behaviour of the opinion field are explored in this paper. By using evolutionary game theory to explore the game relationship between the official opinion field and the public opinion field and by considering the existence of strategy dependency in the same game group, the dependence coefficient is introduced to improve replicator dynamics. The dynamic delayed SEIR evolutionary game model is built by combining the epidemic model with the delay effect within the group, and the stability of the proposed model is analysed. The research results show that the strategy dependency among the same game group has positive and negative effects on the evolution process. The evolution of the dynamic delayed panic SEIR evolutionary game spread model under the effect of a positive effect is simulated. The results suggest that the official opinion field and the public opinion field should actively deal with emergencies, formulate effective control strategies to make the panic within the group disappear, and provide theoretical guidance for the relevant government to formulate plans.
Topics: Humans; Emergencies; Panic; Epidemics; Government; Game Theory
PubMed: 37833396
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44116-4 -
Translational Psychiatry Nov 2017Panic disorder is characterized by sudden, repeated, and unexpected attacks of intense fear and overwhelming anxiety about when another attack may strike. Patients with...
Panic disorder is characterized by sudden, repeated, and unexpected attacks of intense fear and overwhelming anxiety about when another attack may strike. Patients with panic disorder and healthy individuals with a history of panic attacks show a hypersensitivity to unpredictable threats, suggesting a possible link between panic and sustained anxiety. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which induced symptoms of panic relate to fear and anxiety, as well as activity in the neural systems that mediate and regulate these affective states. Psychological and physiological symptoms of panic were assessed during an 8-min 7.5% CO challenge task. Psychological, physiological, and neural symptoms of fear and anxiety were measured during two sessions (one psychophysiology and one functional magnetic resonance imaging where subjects experienced several blocks of no threat (N), predictable shock (P), and unpredictable shock (U; NPU threat task). We used a principle component analysis to characterize panic susceptibility (PS), and found that PS significantly predicted dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) activity to the unpredictable cue during the NPU threat task. When examining the weighted beta coefficients from this analysis, we observed that self-reported fear/anxiety during the CO challenge negatively loaded onto dlPFC activity during the NPU task. Consistent with this observation, dlPFC activity during the unpredictable cue was also negatively correlated with anxiety during the NPU sessions. Together, these results suggest that panic symptoms and anxiety are regulated by the same prefrontal cognitive control system.
Topics: Adult; Anxiety; Carbon Dioxide; Fear; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Panic; Prefrontal Cortex; Young Adult
PubMed: 29213110
DOI: 10.1038/s41398-017-0006-5 -
PloS One 2021The over-purchasing and hoarding of necessities is a common response to crises, especially in developed economies where there is normally an expectation of plentiful...
Pandemic buying: Testing a psychological model of over-purchasing and panic buying using data from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The over-purchasing and hoarding of necessities is a common response to crises, especially in developed economies where there is normally an expectation of plentiful supply. This behaviour was observed internationally during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the absence of actual scarcity, this behaviour can be described as 'panic buying' and can lead to temporary shortages. However, there have been few psychological studies of this phenomenon. Here we propose a psychological model of over-purchasing informed by animal foraging theory and make predictions about variables that predict over-purchasing by either exacerbating or mitigating the anticipation of future scarcity. These variables include additional scarcity cues (e.g. loss of income), distress (e.g. depression), psychological factors that draw attention to these cues (e.g. neuroticism) or to reassuring messages (eg. analytical reasoning) or which facilitate over-purchasing (e.g. income). We tested our model in parallel nationally representative internet surveys of the adult general population conducted in the United Kingdom (UK: N = 2025) and the Republic of Ireland (RoI: N = 1041) 52 and 31 days after the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 were detected in the UK and RoI, respectively. About three quarters of participants reported minimal over-purchasing. There was more over-purchasing in RoI vs UK and in urban vs rural areas. When over-purchasing occurred, in both countries it was observed across a wide range of product categories and was accounted for by a single latent factor. It was positively predicted by household income, the presence of children at home, psychological distress (depression, death anxiety), threat sensitivity (right wing authoritarianism) and mistrust of others (paranoia). Analytic reasoning ability had an inhibitory effect. Predictor variables accounted for 36% and 34% of the variance in over-purchasing in the UK and RoI respectively. With some caveats, the data supported our model and points to strategies to mitigate over-purchasing in future crises.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Anxiety; COVID-19; Consumer Behavior; Depression; Female; Hoarding; Humans; Ireland; Male; Middle Aged; Models, Psychological; Pandemics; Panic; SARS-CoV-2; Stress, Psychological; Surveys and Questionnaires; United Kingdom
PubMed: 33503049
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246339 -
Journal of Affective Disorders Oct 2019To minimize the burden in detecting and monitoring Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia by developing a very brief scale with selected items from the Panic Disorder Severity...
OBJECTIVE
To minimize the burden in detecting and monitoring Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia by developing a very brief scale with selected items from the Panic Disorder Severity Scale-Self Report (PDSS-SR), and to investigate the proposed scale's psychometric properties in a comorbid sample.
METHODS
A sample of 5103 patients from the Internet Psychiatry Clinic in Sweden, diagnosed and treated with Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder (n = 1390), social anxiety disorder (n = 1313) or depression (n = 2400), responded to the PDSS-SR. Six criteria related to factor structure, sensitivity to change and clinical representativeness were used to select items. Psychometric analyses for the selected very brief scale were performed.
RESULTS
Items 2 (distress during panic attacks) and 4 (agoraphobic avoidance), were selected to create the very brief PDSS-SR version. Correlations with the full scale were high at screening, pre and post, and for change (0.87-0.93). Categorical Omega was ⍵ = 0.74. With a cut-off of 3 points, the scale could detect panic disorder in a psychiatric sample with a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 66%.
LIMITATIONS
Limitations include lack of healthy controls and lack of blinding on secondary outcome measures.
CONCLUSION
The proposed 2-item PDSS-SR version is a good candidate for a very brief panic disorder questionnaire, both for detecting cases and for measuring change. This is especially useful in clinical settings when measuring more than one condition at a time.
Topics: Adult; Agoraphobia; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Comorbidity; Depressive Disorder; Female; Humans; Internet; Male; Mass Screening; Middle Aged; Panic Disorder; Phobia, Social; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Self Report; Sensitivity and Specificity; Severity of Illness Index; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 31349178
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.07.057 -
Journal of Korean Medical Science Jun 2011Panic disorder is one of the chronic and disabling anxiety disorders. There has been evidence for either genetic heterogeneity or complex inheritance, with environmental... (Review)
Review
Panic disorder is one of the chronic and disabling anxiety disorders. There has been evidence for either genetic heterogeneity or complex inheritance, with environmental factor interactions and multiple single genes, in panic disorder's etiology. Linkage studies have implicated several chromosomal regions, but no research has replicated evidence for major genes involved in panic disorder. Researchers have suggested several neurotransmitter systems are related to panic disorder. However, to date no candidate gene association studies have established specific loci. Recently, researchers have emphasized genome-wide association studies. Results of two genome-wide association studies on panic disorder failed to show significant associations. Evidence exists for differences regarding gender and ethnicity in panic disorder. Increasing evidence suggests genes underlying panic disorder overlap, transcending current diagnostic boundaries. In addition, an anxious temperament and anxiety-related personality traits may represent intermediate phenotypes that predispose to panic disorder. Future research should focus on broad phenotypes, defined by comorbidity or intermediate phenotypes. Genome-wide association studies in large samples, studies of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions, and pharmacogenetic studies are needed.
Topics: Catechol O-Methyltransferase; Cholecystokinin; Genetic Loci; Genome-Wide Association Study; Humans; Monoamine Oxidase; Panic Disorder
PubMed: 21655053
DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2011.26.6.701