Community correlates of outcomes in subjects with panic attacks

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to document the association between community factors and mental health outcomes in subjects with panic attacks. Randomly selected adults from 18 census tracts were screened for the presence of panic attacks. A structured interview was used to assess health care utilization, psychiatric morbidity, quality of life, and sense of control over panic. Community measures were obtained from census data. Regression analyses found that each community measure was associated with at least one outcome even when adjusted for individual socioeconomic status and barriers to access. Research concerning mental health outcomes in subjects with panic attacks should include community-level data.

Community Effects on Mental Health Outcomes in Subjects With and Without Panic Attacks

“…In a previous analysis of the Panic Attack Care-Seeking Threshold Study database, census tract descriptors were significantly associated with psychiatric symptomatology (range, R 2 = 0.042-0.136) and life satisfaction (R 2 = 0.044), as well as with sense of control (R 2 = 0.087) and comorbid mental disorders (R 2 = 0.159) among subjects with panic attacks. 15 However, that analysis used descriptors in linear regression models; it did not look at proportions of variance accounted for by census tract membership. Census tract is a governmentally determined geographic area designed to yield clusters that are demographically homogeneous.…”