Weekly Mind Reader: Study Links Anxiety Disorders

The latest Weekly Mind Reader includes a new link between two anxiety disorders, encouraging news about telehealth, and more about PTSD.

The Lasting Consequences of Separation Anxiety

Anxiety disorders plague more than a third of the world’s population. And they typically emerge early in life, bringing with them often significant economic and physical health burdens.

Studies suggest that, in the United States alone, the annual costs associated with anxiety disorders exceed $33 billion.

Specifically, a growing segment of research has focused on the link between separation anxiety disorder (SAD) and panic disorder (PD). The implication, of course, is that childhood separation anxiety might act as a PD indicator later in life.

Donald Klein’s groundbreaking work back in 1964 first detailed PD, noting symptoms such as rapid breathing, palpitations, and fear of impending death. His findings played a crucial role in the recognition of PD as a clinical disorder in the DSM-III in 1980.

Klein also speculated about a connection between childhood separation anxiety and PD, particularly in cases where PD manifests with respiratory symptoms, a subtype known as respiratory subtype PD (RS-PD). Studies have reiterated that those with RS-PD are more sensitive to carbon dioxide and tend to experience more severe panic symptoms compared to those with non-respiratory subtype PD (NRS-PD).

More recent research from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – appearing this week in The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders – examined 180 adults with RS-PD, NRS-PD, or no PD to investigate the relationship between childhood separation anxiety and these PD subtypes. 

Results revealed that more than half – 55 percent – of RS-PD patients had a history of childhood separation anxiety, compared to less than a quarter – or 23 percent – of NRS-PD patients and just 17 percent of the control group. This suggests a strong link between RS-PD and separation anxiety.

NRS-PD, on the other hand, appears to show a weaker link.

The findings emphasize the importance of recognizing and addressing childhood separation anxiety, particularly in anyone with RS-PD. The study’s authors encourage clinicians to inquire about a history of separation anxiety in patients with PD and to consider preventive strategies, such as family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy, to mitigate future issues. 

Finally, the authors also insist that further research should explore the biological and psychological connections between childhood separation anxiety and PD.

IN OTHER PSYCHIATRY AND NEUROLOGY NEWS

• Several small studies – collected in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry this week – show that telehealth holds promise for psychiatric assessments, especially when in-person evaluations are not feasible. 
• PCC this week also features an evidence- and consensus-based clinical recommendation regarding primary care management of insufficient and disturbed sleep associated with concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries in service members and veterans.
• Also in JCP, Chittaranjan Andrade, MD, discusses basic terms and concepts of regression analysis, and three useful examples that involve readers in learning how regressions work.
• In the news, Abbott has launched a study to evaluate its new deep brain stimulation device’s ability to treat difficult-to-treat depression.
• And, finally, catch up on the latest in our ongoing series covering PTSD research.