Citation

Oh S, HaHa TH, Kim H, Lee H, Myung W. Depress. Anxiety 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/da.23019

PMID

32301576

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Panic disorder is a common anxiety disorder affecting up to 5% of the population. Although its pathogenesis is unclear, evidence about its association with ambient temperature is limited. We aimed to investigate the association between short-term exposure to increased ambient temperature and exacerbation of panic attacks requiring emergency department visits.

METHODS: From the national emergency database of South Korea, we identified 1,926 patients who presented with panic attacks at the emergency department in Seoul from 2008 to 2014. Using a time-stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression analysis, we compared ambient temperature levels on emergency department visits and correspondingly matched-control days.

RESULTS: Increased ambient temperature levels were significantly associated with panic attacks. The risk of a panic attack increased by 2.2% (95% confidence interval, 0.7-3.8%) per every 1°C increase in temperature. This association was significant after adjusting for air pollutants.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide new evidence that short-term exposure to increased ambient temperature may increase the risk of exacerbation of panic attacks. These findings may provide a basis for further research to establish the association between panic attacks and ambient temperature, thus establishing preventive measures for panic attacks.

© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

ambient temperature; case-crossover analysis; emergency department; exposure; panic attack; panic disorder; short-term