[Panic disorder in the elderly].

Unlabelled: The existence of panic disorder (PD) in old population is a source of debate.

Objectives: This study is aimed at studying the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of panic disorder in patients over 60 years of age seen in two outpatient psychiatric clinics.

Method: All consecutive cases of PD (DSM-III-R) who contacted with two outpatient clinics in a three-year period were assessed by the same team. Those patients aged 60 or more at the time of interview were grouped and compared with a young and adult group. PASS and Marks-Matthews' Phobia Scale were administered to the sample.

Results: Fifty-three (15.6%) out of 341 PD patients were over 60 years of age. Elderly patients reported less frequency and severity of symptoms, less comorbidity with social phobia (p < 0.01) and alcoholism disorders (p < 0.01) and more with dysthymia (p < 0.05). The elderly patients with PD reported fewer family histories of alcoholism (p < 0.05), depression (p < 0.05) and PD (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The rate of PD patients over 60 years of age who get in touch with outpatient psychiatric clinics is variable but not uncommon. Some clinical characteristics of PD in the elderly such as medical comorbidity and less symptom severity may enhance misdiagnosis in clinical settings.