Alcohol use disorders in relatives of patients with panic disorder.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to use data from a family study of anxiety disorders to examine the familial association between alcohol use disorders and panic disorder (PD), controlling for alcohol use disorders in the proband.

METHOD: Data from a family study of anxiety disorders were used to compare rates of alcohol use disorders in the relatives of 3 proband groups (PD with lifetime alcohol use disorders, PD without lifetime alcohol use disorders, and not-ill controls).

RESULTS

There was a significantly higher rate (12%) of alcohol use disorders among the relatives of PD probands compared with relatives of controls (5%), even in the absence of alcohol use disorders in the proband and after adjusting for differences in sociodemographic characteristics and lifetime drug use disorders (chi2 = 5.4; df = 1; P = .02). Anxiety symptoms were more frequent among the male relatives of panic probands who received an alcohol diagnosis, compared with those who did not have alcohol use disorders (10/25 vs 22/111; chi2 = 4.6; df = 1; P = .03). A similar pattern was found in women (8/11 vs 63/156; chi2 = 4.4; df = 1; P = .036).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest a familial association between PD and alcohol use disorders. Future studies with more refined alcohol diagnoses are needed to replicate and investigate the mechanism of this association.