Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:334-338
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association
Briquet's syndrome in association with depression and panic: a reconceptualization of Briquet's syndrome
H Orenstein
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle 98104.
In a sample of 188 consecutive female psychiatric patients, Briquet's
syndrome was found to be associated more closely with the aggregation of
both major depression and either panic disorder or agoraphobia than with
major depression or panic disorder-agoraphobia alone. These results are
consistent with the hypothesis of a shared diathesis underlying some cases
of major depression, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and Briquet's syndrome.
The author proposes that Briquet's syndrome may represent the most extreme
expression of a tendency for a number of physical and psychological
syndromes to aggregate.
