Impact of panic attacks on quality of life among patients with schizophrenia

Objective: Schizophrenia patients had decreased levels of quality of life compared to normal population. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of panic attacks on quality of life in patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: Eighty-eight patients with schizophrenia and 85 healthy subjects were included in the study. World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-Short Form (WHOQOL-Bref) was given to patients and healthy subjects to assess quality of life. Panic module of Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) was administered to patients for diagnosis of panic attacks and panic disorder. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for symptom severity and Calgary Depression Scale (CDS) for depressive symptoms were administered to the patients.

Results: Patients with schizophrenia demonstrated significantly lower scores compared to healthy controls in all domains of WHOQOL-Bref. Twenty-five patients (28.4%) with schizophrenia had panic attacks (PA) and 10 patients (11.4%) met criteria for panic disorder (PD). Schizophrenia patients with PA had significantly lower scores on psychological domain of WHOQOL-Bref compared to the patients without PA. Schizophrenic patients with panic attacks had higher CDS scores than patients without PA. In the multivariate regression analyses the variance in psychological domain of WHOQOL-Bref was explained by depression rather than panic attack.

Conclusion: In patients with schizophrenia comorbid panic attacks may have a negative impact on quality of life, which is associated with depression significantly. Panic attacks and depressive symptomatology must be examined comprehensively in order to improve quality of life in patients with schizophrenia.