Respiratory disorders as a possible predisposing factor for panic disorder.

150 consecutive anxiety patients completed a specially designed questionnaire which asked for the occurrence of respiratory and other somatic disorders before the onset of their anxiety disorder. The sample was divided into 82 panic disorder patients and 68 other anxiety patients serving as controls. Panic disorder patients had a significantly higher prevalence of respiratory diseases before the onset of their anxiety disorder than controls (42.7 vs. 16.2%). This higher prevalence was mainly due to a higher prevalence of bronchitis (26.8 vs. 8.8%). Differences in numbers of respiratory disorders mentioned appeared not to result from a tendency to hypochondria.