Analysis of psychiatric heredity in patients with agoraphobia and panic disorder

Introduction: The previous studies report high prevalence of psychiatric disorders among family members of patients with agoraphobia and panic disorder. In our country there have been no studies that examine psychiatric heredity in patients with agoraphobia and panic disorder. Objective: The objective of the research is to investigate the presence of heredity in patients with agoraphobia and panic disorder, and to compare the clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with agoraphobia and panic disorder with and without psychiatric heredity. Method: The sample included 40 patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Data were obtained from the questionnaire for the assessment of panic disorder NIMH-PQ, which included questions about the occurrence of psychiatric disorders in families of the patients, as well as 44 questions about the severity and frequency of panic disorder symptoms. Results: The results indicate that the majority of patients (62.5 %) have the positive psychiatric heredity. The most frequent were depression and alcoholism. The results, also, showed that there are no significant differences in the characteristics of the main symptoms of panic disorder of patients with and without psychiatric heredity. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate high prevalence of psychiatric heredity in patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia but more studies are needed to conclude that there is a direct link between family history of psychiatric disorders and occurrence of panic disorder and agoraphobia.