OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated the relation of age at onset of
panic disorder to liability to panic disorder and agoraphobia. METHOD: Two
hundred thirty-one outpatients with panic disorder were compared with 131
surgical outpatients on demographic variables and familial risk of
psychiatric disorders. The distribution of patients' ages at onset of panic
disorder and several covariates were entered in a stepwise survival
analysis. RESULTS: The patients with panic disorder had a significantly
higher rate of childhood separation anxiety disorder and higher familial
risks of panic disorder/panic disorder with agoraphobia and alcoholism. A
family history of panic disorder with agoraphobia and the presence of
childhood separation anxiety disorder influenced age at onset of panic
disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Age at onset of panic disorder may reflect genetic
penetrance, and separation anxiety disorder may be an individual predictor
of earlier onset of panic disorder.Abstract Teaser