Panic Disorder in People living with Chronic illness
| Key things to know | What the evidence shows |
|---|---|
| How common is it? | No universal estimate; COPD ~8–12.5% |
| Is it more common among people living with chronic illness? | Can be markedly elevated in specific cardiopulmonary illnesses |
| Are people living with chronic illness at higher risk? | Yes for some illnesses, particularly COPD/cardiopulmonary disease |
| How much higher is the risk? | COPD: 9.7% vs 2.8% healthy controls in case-control studies |
| How often can it be missed? | Very high because panic resembles physical illness |
| Does it show up differently among people living with chronic illness? | Context meaningfully changes recognition/differential |
| How might it look different? | Breathlessness/chest tightness/palpitations can both cause and resemble panic |
| What commonly occurs alongside it? | Depression; GAD; disease-specific conditions |
| What can it be confused with? | Cardiac disease, COPD symptoms, arrhythmia, hyperthyroidism, medication effects |
| Common screening tool | PDSS-SR |
| Separate screening tool for people living with chronic illness | None |
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