Panic disorder and addiction: the clinical issues of comorbidity

Panic disorder and addiction are occasionally comorbid--4.5% of addicted patients have panic disorder, and 16% of panic disorder patients are comorbid for addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Despite these relatively low rates of comorbidity, the treatment of these two disorders is commonly confounded by issues of comorbidity, as many physicians avoid using benzodiazepines to treat panic disorder out of inappropriate fear of addiction, and not a few physicians treat panic disorder thinking that they will thereby end comorbid addiction. Sound clinical practice calls for clear identification of both panic disorder and addiction and fully effective treatments of the diseases from which the patients suffer.