Yardley L, Britton J, Lear S, Bird J, Luxon L M
Department of Psychology, University College London, U.K.
Behav Res Ther. 1995 May;33(4):435-9. doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(94)00060-w.
There is a striking similarity between the situations avoided by people with agoraphobia and the environments which provoke disorientation in people with organic balance disorders. This study investigated the possibility that agoraphobia might be linked to balance system dysfunction by comparing the results of balance system tests in 36 people with symptoms of panic and agoraphobia and 20 normal controls. A traditional battery of audiovestibular tests was supplemented with moving platform posturography, which assesses the postural instability induced by disorienting perceptual conditions. Subjects also completed questionnaire measures of somatic symptoms of dizziness and anxiety, agoraphobic cognitions, avoidance behaviour and state anxiety. Over 60% of the Ss with symptoms of panic and agoraphobia were destabilised by the disorienting perceptual conditions, compared with just 10% of the normal controls. Postural instability was strongly related to reported agoraphobic avoidance (r = 0.63, P < 0.01), even after controlling for symptoms, anxiety and agoraphobic cognitions. In our discussion we consider alternative interpretations of these findings, future directions for research, and implications for therapy.
广场恐惧症患者所回避的情境与患有机体平衡障碍的人出现定向障碍的环境之间存在显著相似性。本研究通过比较36名有惊恐和广场恐惧症症状的人与20名正常对照者的平衡系统测试结果，调查了广场恐惧症可能与平衡系统功能障碍有关的可能性。传统的听前庭测试组补充了移动平台姿势描记法，该方法可评估由定向障碍的感知条件引起的姿势不稳。受试者还完成了关于头晕和焦虑的躯体症状、广场恐惧认知、回避行为和状态焦虑的问卷调查。有惊恐和广场恐惧症症状的受试者中，超过60%在定向障碍的感知条件下出现了平衡不稳，而正常对照者中只有10%出现这种情况。即使在控制了症状、焦虑和广场恐惧认知之后，姿势不稳与报告的广场恐惧回避也密切相关（r = 0.63，P < 0.01）。在我们的讨论中，我们考虑了这些发现的其他解释、未来的研究方向以及对治疗的启示。
