Anxiety sensitivity and nonclinical panic attacks.

The present study examined anxiety sensitivity in relation to trait anxiety and the occurrence of nonclinical panic attacks in 265 subjects. Fifty percent of high anxiety sensitivity subjects reported panic attacks (both cued and spontaneous) in the past year. In addition, almost 42% of subjects with high anxiety sensitivity but no history of panic reported a high level of trait anxiety concerning physical danger. The results suggest that anxiety sensitivity is frequently not independent of other forms of anxiety.