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Panic Disorder in Children and Adolescents with Noncardiac Chest Pain

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Abstract

Adults with panic disorder (PD) often present to medical settings with noncardiac chest pain (NCCP), but less is known about children and adolescents with this complaint. We sought to characterize PD in youth with NCCP and compare features with PD in youth in psychiatric outpatient settings. Using a semi-structured diagnostic interview we evaluated 132 youth (ages 8–17) with NCCP recruited from two medical settings. Twenty-seven (20.5 %) met full DSM-IV criteria for PD, eleven of which were children (<13 years). Most frequent panic symptoms were somatic complaints, although cognitive symptoms were also common. Only 14.8 % had clinically significant agoraphobia. Comorbid anxiety disorders and major depression were common. Overall, clinical features of PD among youth with NCCP are similar to PD in psychiatric settings. Interventions for PD may benefit youth who present initially with NCCP. Systematic psychiatric screening could increase detection of PD and improve care for this population.

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Acknowledgments

Supported by National Institute of Mental Health (grants R01-MH067912 and K08-MH01575 to J.L). We would like to thank Ann Marie Albano, PhD for her assistance with training on the ADIS: C/P.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B 653, 84105, Beer-Sheva, Israel

    Michal Achiam-Montal, Lee Tibi & Joshua D. Lipsitz

  2. Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Joshua D. Lipsitz

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  1. Michal Achiam-Montal
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  2. Lee Tibi
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  3. Joshua D. Lipsitz
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Correspondence to Joshua D. Lipsitz.

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Achiam-Montal, M., Tibi, L. & Lipsitz, J.D. Panic Disorder in Children and Adolescents with Noncardiac Chest Pain. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 44, 742–750 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-013-0367-9

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