Familial analysis of panic disorder and agoraphobia. Gruppo Italiano Disturbi d'Ansia.

In this paper we studied the distribution of age at onset in 144 patients with panic disorder (PD) and/or agoraphobia (according to DSM-III criteria). We also investigated the incidences in their first-degree relatives of PD, agoraphobia, affective disorders, other anxiety disorders and alcoholism. Our aim was to detect the existence of a specific susceptibility system in these families, considering a wide spectrum of disorders. We found an earlier onset of PD and agoraphobia in the subgroup of our probands who previously met criteria for a separation anxiety disorder in childhood. The presence of both separation anxiety disorder and agoraphobia in the probands increased the familial risk for PD and agoraphobia. Nevertheless, the main finding appeared to be the specific familial concentration of agoraphobia, a disorder exclusively clustered in families of agoraphobic patients.