Suicidal behavior in patients with panic disorder: retrospective and prospective data

This paper examines factors associated with suicidal behavior in patients with anxiety disorders. HARP is a naturalistic, prospective, longitudinal follow-up study. This paper examines 527 subjects with panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia). 9% of the subjects reported past suicidal behavior. Factors associated with suicidal behavior were depressive disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, PTSD and personality disorders as well as having early onset of the first anxiety or depressive disorder. Subjects had a 4.5% P of suicidal behavior during the first 30 months of follow-up. All prospectively recorded suicidal behavior occurred in subjects with depressive disorders. In these panic disorder patients, suicidal behavior rarely occurred in the absence of affective disorders. Certain nondepressive disorders also substantially increased the risks of suicide attempts/gestures.