Panic disorder is a psychiatric disorder characterized by unexpected and repeated panic attacks. Panic attacks are limited in time, highly compulsive, and are accompanied by a wide range of negative physiological and psychological consequences. Clinical studies have confirmed that panic disorder is doubly common in women and that its age of onset is different in each sex; in men it appears between the ages of 15 and 24 while in women it starts somewhat later, between the ages of 35 and 44.
Panic disorder in women
- Panic disorder in women tends to be more severe than in men and is associated with agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and somatization disorder. We also found sexual differences in their symptoms, since panic in women predominantly presents respiratory symptoms , while in men it is gastrointestinal symptoms accompanied by intense sweating.
- Very recently, from the field of neuroimaging, it has been possible to verify differences between the different brain structures of men and women with panic disorder. Men showed a greater reduction in the right amygdala and bilateral insular cortex, while women showed a more marked decrease in the right temporal gyrus, dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, and thalamus. These findings would confirm the involvement of the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala in the pathophysiology of this disorder and would offer a possible explanation for the sex differences in its symptoms.
- Hormonal fluctuations in women have traditionally been associated with an increased incidence of panic disorder in women. However, although the specific interrelationships between the menstrual cycle and panic disorder are not known, it has been verified that changes in premenstrual hormones contribute to panic episodes.
- Another possible explanatory mechanism for the sex differences in the pathophysiology of panic could be the differences described in the sensitivity of the ?-adrenergic receptor between men and women. Norepinephrine is related to the etiology and symptomatology of panic attacks, with patients presenting an abnormal response after stimulation of?adrenergic receptors. Specifically, women with panic disorder presented a reduction in receptor sensitivity that was not observed in men.
