Characteristics of patients with panic disorder attended in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional multicenter study

Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence of panic disorder during the second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Cross-sectional multicenter study. Setting: Primary care. Participants: Participating primary care physicians selected patients visiting their primary care centers for any reason over a 16-month period. Main outcome measure: Diagnosis of panic disorder was established using The Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) instrument. Results: Of a total of 678 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 36 presented with panic disorder, with a prevalence of 5.3% (95% confidence interval 3.6-7.0). A total of 63.9% of cases occurred in women. The mean age was 46.7±17.1 years. Socioeconomic difficulties, such as very low monthly income rate, unemployment, and financial constraints to make housing payments and to make ends meet were more frequent in patients with panic disorders as compared to patients without panic disorder. A high level of stress (Holmes-Rahe scale>300), concomitant chronic fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel disease, and having financial difficulties in the past 6 months were associated with factors of panic disorder. Discussion: This study characterizes patients with panic disorder diagnosed with a validated instrument during the COVID-19 pandemic and identified risk factors for this disease. Conclusions: In non-selected consecutive primary care attendees in real-world conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of panic disorder was 5.3%, being more frequent in women. There is a need to enhance primary care resources for mental health care during the duration of the pandemic and beyond.