Abstract
Abstract
Background: Panic disorder occurs in 1-2 % of the adult population, and is associated with other psychiatric disorders. There has been a question if there is a higher risk of suicide and attempted suicide in people with panic disorder than in people with other psychiatric illnesses. The role of panic disorder in suicidal behavior and completed suicide is complex and has been a subject of significant interest.
Issue questioned: The question is whether there is a significant and separate effect of panic disorder in suicide risk?
Method: Study of literature. Used the terms “panic disorder” and “suicide” when searching in PubMed. Found 155 studies, and read the abstracts to find the most suited ones.
Results: It seems that the most recent studies found panic disorder to be a unique predictor of suicidal ideation, but there are different results when it comes to suicide attempts. There is still a disagreement if the higher suicide risk in patients with panic disorder is a result of comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, such as depression.
Conclusion: It was not possible to make an exact conclusion from the studies. Panic disorder may be an independent risk factor for suicide, but further research is needed to make a final conclusion. Nevertheless, clinicians should carefully assess suicidal ideation and suicidal planning in patients with panic disorder.
Supervisor: Professor dr.med Lars Mehlum. National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, University of Oslo.