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Panic disorder in women: a population-based twin study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Kenneth S. Kendler ,
Michael C. Neale ,
Ronald C. Kessler ,
Andrew C. Heath  and
Lindon J. Eaves
Kenneth S. Kendler*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Michael C. Neale
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Ronald C. Kessler
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Andrew C. Heath
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Lindon J. Eaves
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Kenneth S. Kendler, Box 710, MCV Station, Richmond, VA 23298–0710, USA.
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Synopsis

Previous studies based on probands from clinical samples suggest that panic disorder aggregates strongly in families and may be due to a highly penetrant single major locus. In this study we examine panic disorder as assessed at blind, structured psychiatric interview in 2163 women from a population-based twin registry. DSM-III-R diagnoses were assigned at a narrow and at a broad level both by clinician review and by computer algorithm. The familial aggregation of panic disorder in this sample was only modest. The relatively small number of affected individuals prevented a definitive resolution of competing genetic and non-genetic models of familial transmission. Although there was some inconsistency across diagnostic approaches, most results suggested that the familial aggregation of panic disorder was due largely to genetic factors. Using a multifactorial-threshold model, the best estimates of the heritability of liability ranged from 30 to 40%. From a familial perspective, panic disorder with phobic avoidance appears to represent a more severe form of the syndrome than panic disorder without avoidance. Our results, which suggest that in the general population panic disorder is only a moderately heritable condition, are at variance with results from several previous investigations based on clinically ascertained samples.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , May 1993 , pp. 397 - 406
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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