Evidence for respiratory and nonrespiratory subtypes in panic disorder

Kenneth Abrams, Yuri Rassovsky, Matt G. Kushner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recently researchers have posited a "respiratory" subtype of panic disorder (PD), which differs from "nonrespiratory" subtypes in phenomenology and perhaps treatment response. This study was designed to further examine evidence for the existence of a respiratory subtype in PD. Individuals with PD with prominent respiratory symptoms (PD-R; n = 10) and without prominent respiratory symptoms (PD-NR; n = 23), as well as healthy controls (n = 27), underwent a standardized 5% CO2 rebreathing challenge. Ventilatory response and subjective sensation of suffocation were continuously recorded. The PD-R group exhibited greater subjective suffocation levels, rates of respiration, and propensity to terminate the procedure voluntarily than did the other two groups, which in turn did not differ on these measures. Findings are consistent with the existence of a respiratory subtype of PD, which differs from non-respiratory subtypes in CO2 sensitivity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)474-481
Number of pages8
JournalDepression and Anxiety
Volume23
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Institute of Mental HealthT32MH017069
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismR29AA009871

    Keywords

    • Carbon dioxide
    • Panic disorder
    • Respiratory subtype
    • Subtypes
    • Suffocation

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