Poor Patients With Panic Disorder May Need Extended Treatment

According to a study published this month in the American Journal of Psychiatry, poverty-stricken patients are more likely to present with severe panic disorder than patients above the poverty line. Researchers examined 232 primary care patients with panic disorder, 80 below and 152 above the poverty line, who were taking part in comparison of the efficacy of a CBT and pharmacotherapy intervention to usual care. Improvement in the poor patients was comparable to that in the non-poor patients, but due to the original disparity in symptoms, the poor patients were significantly more disabled at final follow-up. The authors suggest that extended treatments could be warranted to achieve remission in poorer patients. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/8/1419