Am J Psychiatry 1993; 150:1102-1104
Copyright © 1993 by American Psychiatric Association
Anxiety disorders in a neuromuscular clinic
CM Paradis, S Friedman, RM Lazar and RW Kula
Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York, Health Science Center, Brooklyn 11203.
Twenty patients with myasthenia gravis and 15 patients with
polymyositis/dermatomyositis were assessed with a structured interview.
Fifteen patients (43%) were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Significantly more myasthenic patients (40%) than
polymyositis/dermatomyositis patients (7%) were diagnosed with panic
disorder/agoraphobia. These findings suggest that the symptoms of
myasthenia gravis may predispose vulnerable individuals to panic
disorder/agoraphobia.
