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Updated: Sep 27, 2026

Bronchial Thermoplasty: A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Severe Asthma
Published on: November 4, 2010
Asthma and panic disorder
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Objective:
To compare asthma attacks with panic attacks and identify discriminating symptoms.
Design:
Survey, case-control study.
Setting:
Tertiary care centers.
Patients:
Convenience sample of 71 patients with panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia, and without medical illnesses; and 71 patients with asthma, cohort-matched from 407 patients to be demographically similar to the panic disorder sample.
Interventions:
None.
Main Outcome Measures:
Asthma Symptom Checklist.
Results:
Clusters of symptoms reflecting panic-fear and hyperventilation-hypocapnia were more strongly endorsed by subjects with panic disorder, whereas airway obstruction symptom clusters were more strongly descriptive of asthma attacks (all P < .05). Three symptoms differentiated the groups with sensitivity greater than 0.90 and specificity greater than 0.70: wheezing, mucous congestion, and coughing, all being present significantly more among asthma attacks than panic attacks.
Conclusion:
Knowledge of what symptoms discriminate asthma attacks from panic attacks may help physicians identify each type of attack in individuals who experience both.
Related Concept Videos
Asthma-I: Introduction
Asthma-II: Pathophysiology and Classification
Additionally, environmental and genetic factors play crucial roles in determining an individual's susceptibility to asthma and the severity of their condition.
Critical processes in asthma pathophysiology include:
Asthma-III: Symptoms and Complications
Classification of Asthma
Panic Disorder
Asthma I: Introduction
Asthma III: Clinical Manifestations

