Associations Between Lifetime Panic Attacks, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Substance Use Disorders in a...

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• High comorbidity exists between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD).
• Panic attacks are common in trauma survivors and individuals with SUD, but their specific role in PTSD/SUD comorbidity is understudied.
• Existing research often groups alcohol use disorder (AUD) and drug use disorders (DUD) together, despite potential differences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that panic attacks are associated with a higher lifetime risk of AUD and DUD in adults with PTSD.
• To explore if panic attacks are linked to specific DUDs (cannabis, sedatives, heroin/opioids, cocaine) that frequently co-occur with PTSD.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III).
• Analyzed a sample of adults with lifetime PTSD (N=2,230).
• Classified participants into PTSD/AUD, PTSD/DUD, or PTSD-only groups based on diagnostic interview data.

Main Results:

• Adults with a history of panic attacks had a greater lifetime risk of both PTSD/AUD and PTSD/DUD compared to PTSD-only.
• Younger age at data collection and male sex were also associated with increased risk for PTSD/AUD and PTSD/DUD.
• Panic attacks did not predict specific DUD diagnoses when adjusting for covariates in exploratory analyses.

Conclusions:

• Findings underscore the importance of assessing and addressing panic symptoms in clinical settings for individuals with PTSD and SUD.
• Panic may not differentiate between specific types of drug use disorders that co-occur with PTSD.
• Further research is needed to understand the nuanced relationship between panic, PTSD, and various SUDs.