THE PREVALENCE OF RESPIRATORY DISORDERS IN PANIC DISORDER, MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER AND V-CODE PATIENTS

Point prevalence and lifetime prevalence of respiratory disorders were assessed in 100 panic disorder (PD), 100 major depressive disorder (DD) and 100 V-code (VC) patients. Both current and past frequency of respiratory diseases were significantly higher in PD patients in comparison to VC patients, while no significant differences in point and lifetime prevalence between PD and DD or DD and VC patients were observed. It is hypothesized that a disturbed respiratory physiology may have differential effects depending upon the nature of the disorder and the appraisal by the patient.