Deacon Brett, Lickel James, Abramowitz Jonathan S
University of Wyoming, Department of Psychology, Laramie, WY 82071, USA.
J Anxiety Disord. 2008;22(2):344-50. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2007.03.004. Epub 2007 Mar 12.
Individuals with panic disorder often seek medical care for their symptoms prior to receiving effective treatment. However, little is known about how often, and in what settings, patients with other anxiety disorders present for medical treatment. In the present study, utilization of general and specialty medical services was coded via electronic chart review for 171 consecutive outpatients referred to an anxiety disorders clinic. Results indicated that panic disorder patients accrued the most medical visits overall, as well as the most frequent visits to cardiology, family medicine, and emergency medicine. Few differences in medical utilization were evident among patients with generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, and specific phobias. Patients with anxiety disorders appear to be frequent utilizers of medical services prior to receiving effective treatment. Our findings highlight the need for improved recognition and treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly panic disorder, in a number of medical settings.
患有惊恐障碍的个体在接受有效治疗之前，常常会因其症状而寻求医疗护理。然而，对于患有其他焦虑症的患者接受医学治疗的频率以及在何种环境下接受治疗，我们却知之甚少。在本研究中，通过电子病历审查，对连续转诊至一家焦虑症诊所的171名门诊患者的普通和专科医疗服务使用情况进行了编码。结果表明，惊恐障碍患者总体就诊次数最多，同时前往心脏病科、家庭医学科和急诊科就诊的频率也最高。广泛性焦虑症、强迫症、社交恐惧症和特定恐惧症患者在医疗服务使用方面几乎没有明显差异。焦虑症患者在接受有效治疗之前似乎经常使用医疗服务。我们的研究结果凸显了在许多医疗环境中改善焦虑症尤其是惊恐障碍的识别和治疗的必要性。
