Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study, 1980-1985: [United States]

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
1998 ◽  
Vol 173 (6) ◽  
pp. 501-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Eaton ◽  
James C. Anthony ◽  
Alan Romanoski ◽  
Allen Tien ◽  
Joseph Gallo ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe objective is to estimate parameters of the natural history of panic disorder, including its prodrome, incidence, recovery and recurrence.MethodIn 1981 the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study interviewed 3481 individuals probabilistically selected from the household population. During 1993–1996, 1920 of these individuals (73% of survivors) were interviewed again. Baseline and follow-up interviews included the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule. During the follow-up, a subsample was assessed by psychiatrists using the World Health Organization Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN).ResultsThere were 35 new cases of panic disorder in 24 475 person years of exposure, yielding an annual incidence of 1.43 per 1000 per year. Data from the SCAN assessments suggest the incidence estimate is conservative. Incidence is greater in females and declines with age. About one-third of the new cases arise without agoraphobia, but about half have anxiety of some sort present for many years prior to meeting criteria for diagnosis. People with agoraphobia have less intense onsets but slower recoveries than those without agoraphobia.ConclusionsPanic is heterogeneous in its pattern of onset and recovery. Some of the heterogeneity is associated with the presence of other anxiety over a long period of the life.


1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myrna M. Weissman ◽  
Philip J. Leaf ◽  
Gary L. Tischler ◽  
Dan G. Blazer ◽  
Marvin Karno ◽  
...  

SynopsisResults on the age/sex specific prevalence of DSM-III affective disorders from the NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study (ECA), a probability sample of over 18000 adults from five United States communities, are presented. The cross-site means for bipolar disorder ranged from 0·7/100 (2 weeks) to 1–2/100 (lifetime), with a mean age of onset of 21 years and no sex difference in rates. The cross-site means for major depression ranged from 1·5/100 (2 weeks) to 4·4/ 100 (lifetime), with a mean age of onset of 27 years and higher rates in women. The cross-site means for dysthymia, a chronic condition, was 3·1/100 with a higher rate in women. There was reasonable consistency in prevalence rates among sites. The implications of these findings for understanding psychopathology are discussed.


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