The peculiarities of panic disorders determined by gender dimorphism
In contrast to panic disorder (PD) epidemiology, gender-related etiological and clinical PD peculiarities are not studied well so far. Seventy-five PD patients (27 male, 48 female) with and without agoraphobia diagnosed according to ICD-10 criteria have been studied. No differences were found by gender for the key clinical signs: interrelations in parent family, age at debut, panic attacks frequency, combination with agoraphobia, social maladaptation and response to antidepressant therapy. Along with common features, we revealed gender differences in the clinical picture. In women, neuroendocrinal and motivation disorders preceded PD debut, panic attacks comprised more symptoms, with autonomic symptoms in the attack being subjectively considered as the key ones, autonomic function was more pronounced in between-attack period and depressive symptoms predominated in the clinical picture. Men considered psychic anxious symptoms (fear of death, forcing a patient to seek an outside assistance) as more prominent, and PD in men was more often combined with hypochondria and alcohol abuse.