Am J Psychiatry 1992; 149:1239-1243
Copyright © 1992 by American Psychiatric Association
Pubertal stage and panic attack history in sixth- and seventh-grade girls
C Hayward, JD Killen, LD Hammer, IF Litt, DM Wilson, B Simmonds and CB Taylor
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305-5490.
OBJECTIVE: Although the incidence of first panic attacks appears to peak
during adolescence, little is known about which features of adolescence
contribute to the risk of a first panic episode. The purpose of this study
was to compare the relative importance of age and pubertal stage in
explaining the occurrence of panic attacks in adolescents. METHOD: From a
school-based sample of sixth- and seventh- grade girls, 754 subjects
completed both a structured clinical interview determining history of one
or more panic episodes and a self- assessment of Tanner stages of pubertal
development. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed with
panic attack history as the dependent variable and pubertal stage, age, and
their interaction as the independent variables. RESULTS: A history of one
or more four- symptom panic attacks was found in 5.3% of the girls (N =
40). After age was controlled for, pubertal stage was significantly related
to panic attack history. At each age, higher rates of panic attacks were
found in the more physically mature girls. CONCLUSIONS: Pubertal stage,
after adjustment for the effects of age, appears to predict panic attack
occurrence in young adolescent girls. Understanding the link between
puberty and panic may offer clues regarding the onset and etiology of panic
attacks.
