Asthma and panic disorder.

OBJECTIVE

To compare asthma attacks with panic attacks and identify discriminating symptoms.

DESIGN

Survey, case-control study.

SETTING

Tertiary care centers.

PATIENTS: Convenience sample of 71 patients with panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia, and without medical illnesses; and 71 patients with asthma, cohort-matched from 407 patients to be demographically similar to the panic disorder sample.

INTERVENTIONS: None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Asthma Symptom Checklist.

RESULTS

Clusters of symptoms reflecting panic-fear and hyperventilation-hypocapnia were more strongly endorsed by subjects with panic disorder, whereas airway obstruction symptom clusters were more strongly descriptive of asthma attacks (all P < .05). Three symptoms differentiated the groups with sensitivity greater than 0.90 and specificity greater than 0.70: wheezing, mucous congestion, and coughing, all being present significantly more among asthma attacks than panic attacks.

CONCLUSION

Knowledge of what symptoms discriminate asthma attacks from panic attacks may help physicians identify each type of attack in individuals who experience both.