Standardized assessment for panic disorder research. A conference report

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Inconsistent assessment methods hinder comparability of global panic disorder (PD) research.
• Lack of standardized measures complicates patient characterization and follow-up across studies.

Framework:

• A consensus conference convened clinical investigators from biological and psychosocial PD treatment research sites.
• The objective was to establish a standardized assessment package for PD research.

Implementation:

• A 2-day conference resulted in agreement on an essential battery of assessments for PD studies.
• The proposed standards aim to ensure comparability across diverse research settings.

Implications:

• Dissemination of conference conclusions encourages adoption of proposed standards by researchers, editors, and regulatory bodies.
• Standardized assessments will facilitate more reliable comparisons of PD treatment efficacy and patient outcomes.
• Further work is identified to address remaining problematic issues in PD assessment.