Familial coaggregation of major psychiatric disorders and neurodevelopmental disorders among first-degree relatives of individuals with panic disorder.

Researchers studied over 150,000 family members of people with panic disorder to see if they had higher rates of mental health conditions. They found that close relatives (parents, children, siblings) were more likely to develop panic disorder, depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and OCD compared to families without panic disorder. However, autism and schizophrenia rates weren't higher. This suggests these conditions may share genetic or family risk factors.

This large-scale study examined psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorder risks in 153,091 first-degree relatives of individuals with panic disorder, compared to matched controls from Taiwan's national health database (2001-2010). After adjusting for demographics and psychiatric comorbidities, relatives showed significantly elevated risks for multiple conditions: panic disorder (2.74-fold increase), major depressive disorder (1.46-fold), obsessive-compulsive disorder (1.54-fold), ADHD (1.25-fold), and bipolar disorder (1.24-fold). No significant association was found with schizophrenia or autism spectrum disorder. The study demonstrates familial clustering of anxiety-related and mood disorders with panic disorder, suggesting shared genetic or environmental vulnerabilities across these conditions.

Clinicians should screen for multiple psychiatric conditions in families with panic disorder history. Results support genetic counseling and early intervention strategies. Family-based approaches may be valuable for prevention and treatment planning across anxiety and mood disorders.

Study design not specified in abstract. Reliance on health insurance database may miss undiagnosed cases or private healthcare utilization. No information provided about potential confounding factors, follow-up duration, or diagnostic validation methods. Findings may not generalize beyond Taiwanese population.

This study aimed to assess the risk of major psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders in first degree relatives (FDRs) of individuals with panic disorder (PD), including PD, bipolar Disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Between 2001 to 2010, we included 153,091 FDRs of individuals with PD and 1:4 matched controls based on age and sex from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Poisson regression model with a robust error variance to estimate the relative. After adjusting for demographics and psychiatric disorders, FDRs of individuals with PD had a higher risk of PD (reported as adjusted relative risk with 95% confidence interval: (ARR:2.74, 95%CI: 2.56 to 2.93), BD (ARR:1.24, 95%CI: 1.15 to 1.34), MDD (ARR: 1.46, 95%CI: 1.40 to 1.53), ADHD (ARR: 1.25, 95%CI: 1.18 to 1.32), and OCD (ARR:1.54, 95%CI:1.40 to 1.69) compared to their matched controls.

Our findings may aid in counselling and early awareness of major psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Future genetic and population studies are needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms and confirm our findings.