Briquet's syndrome in association with depression and panic: a reconceptualization of Briquet's syndrome.

In a sample of 188 consecutive female psychiatric patients, Briquet's syndrome was found to be associated more closely with the aggregation of both major depression and either panic disorder or agoraphobia than with major depression or panic disorder-agoraphobia alone. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of a shared diathesis underlying some cases of major depression, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and Briquet's syndrome. The author proposes that Briquet's syndrome may represent the most extreme expression of a tendency for a number of physical and psychological syndromes to aggregate.