A descriptive study of agoraphobic situations and correlates on panic disorder

• Main Authors: Habibeh Barzegar, Mostafa Farahbakhsh, Hosein Azizi, Sepideh Aliashrafi, Hossein Dadashzadeh, Ali Fakhari
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2021-07-01
• Series: Middle East Current Psychiatry
• Subjects: Agoraphobia; Descriptive study; Panic disorder; Tabriz
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-021-00110-y

Abstract Background We aimed to identify the distribution and effective factors of agoraphobic situations and how they relate to panic disorder. We included confirmed 61 patients with agoraphobia in Bozorgmehr Psychiatric Clinic of Tabriz. Multiple logistic regression was used to measure panic disorder, agoraphobia, and effective factors. Results The average age of participants was 37.26 (SD 10.9), including 68.85% female and 31.15% male. Out of those, around three-fourths, 45 (73.7%), had panic disorder or comorbidity at least by one psychiatric disorder. Among various types of agoraphobia situations, leaving 34.63% and being 32.63% home alone had the most occurrences. A trend was observed between the rising of agoraphobia situations and panic risk. The final analysis was found a significant relationship between being bathroom alone (OR = 1.3; CI 1.12–1.56), having more than one psychiatric disorder (AOR = 8.25; CI 1.12–27.17), and panic risk. Conclusions We found leaving home alone, being home alone, being in a crowd, and standing in line as the most common agoraphobic situations. There appears agoraphobia and panic disorders are poorly understood in primary mental health care systems. The screening and treating programs are needed for increasing the quality of life and early identification of these disorders.