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Epidemiology of Panic Attacks and Panic Disorders

  • Conference paper
Panic and Phobias

Abstract

Although numerous studies have been published on the prevalence rates for anxiety disorders, few such studies have used standardized psychiatric diagnostic interviews, and even fewer have used the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in its Third Revision (DSM-III 1980). To our knowledge only the comprehensive NIMH Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) Program (Regier et al. 1984; Eaton and Kessler 1985) as well as a smaller epidemiological cohort study, the Munich Follow-up Study (MFS, Wittchen et al., in prep; Wittchen and von Zerssen, in press) have reported detailed prevalence rates for most DSM-III disorders by using a standardized diagnostic interview, the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS; Robins etal. 1981). Neither publication, however, focusses on the analysis of anxiety disorders. Thus, with one exemption (Boyd etal. 1984) only very few epidemiological data were reported, that are relevant for the current discussions and controversies about the subclassification of anxiety disorders with their suggested different therapeutic implications (Zitrin et al. 1978).

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Authors
  1. Hans-Ulrich Wittchen
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavior Therapy Outpatient Unit, Psychiatric University Clinic, Martinistr. 52, 2000, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Federal Republic of Germany

    Iver Hand M.D. (Professor of Psychiatry) (Professor of Psychiatry)

  2. Clinical Psychology, University of Mannheim, Schloβ, 6800, Mannheim, Federal Republic of Germany

    Hans-Ulrich Wittchen Ph.D., Dipl.-Psych. (Professor of Clinical Psychology) (Professor of Clinical Psychology)

  3. Unit for Evaluation Research, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychiatrie, Kraepelinstr. 10, 8000, München 40, Federal Republic of Germany

    Hans-Ulrich Wittchen Ph.D., Dipl.-Psych. (Professor of Clinical Psychology) (Professor of Clinical Psychology)

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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Wittchen, HU. (1986). Epidemiology of Panic Attacks and Panic Disorders. In: Hand, I., Wittchen, HU. (eds) Panic and Phobias. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71165-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71165-7_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-71167-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-71165-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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