Anxiety sensitivity and 35% CO2 reactivity in patients with panic disorder
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Published on: July 19, 2017
Giampaolo Perna1, Pietra Romano, Daniela Caldirola
1Anxiety Disorders Clinical and Research Unit, Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, Istituto Scientifico HS Raffaele, 29 via Prinetti, 20127 Milan, Italy. perna.giampaolo@hsr.it
Objective:
The present study examines the possible relationships between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and reactivity to the 35% carbon dioxide (CO(2)) challenge in panic disorder (PD).
Methods:
One-hundred eight patients with PD underwent the 35% CO(2) challenge and completed the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI). Multiple regression analyses were applied to evaluate the role of AS as a predictor of CO(2)-induced anxiety.
Results:
Fifty-six patients with PD showed high AS scores, whereas 48 showed medium scores and 4 low scores. ASI scores significantly predicted symptomatological reaction to CO(2) but not subjective induced anxiety.
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that the fear of anxiety-related bodily sensations was related to the symptomatological reactivity to CO(2) but did not seem to play a crucial role in the modulation of the subjective anxiogenic/panicogenic response to hypercapnia in patients with PD.
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