Am J Psychiatry 1993; 150:1881-1883
Copyright © 1993 by American Psychiatric Association
Anxiety sensitivity and response to cholecystokinin tetrapeptide in healthy volunteers
D Koszycki, BJ Cox and J Bradwejn
Department of Psychiatry, St. Mary's Hospital Center, Montreal, Que., Canada.
The authors determined whether fear of anxiety symptoms mediates
panicogenic responses to cholecystokinin tetrapeptide (CCK-4) in healthy
subjects. Individuals with a preexisting high level of anxiety sensitivity
(N = 10) experienced significantly more catastrophic cognitions and fear of
somatic symptoms than did subjects with low (N = 9) or medium (N = 17)
anxiety sensitivity, but they were not more susceptible to experiencing a
panic attack. Thus, cognitive factors do not appear to be critical
determinants of CCK-4-induced panic attacks.
