Degree of severity in subthreshold and mild panic disorder and the impact on level of functioning and intervention outcome

Panic disorder is associated with considerable disability and economic costs. A first aim of the present study was to compare level of functioning and economic costs in subthreshold and mild panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. A second aim was to investigate whether pre-treatment levels of severity of panic and agoraphobia predicted improvement after an early intervention for panic symptomatology. Participants were 217 self-referred adults who participated in a study on the effectiveness of an early intervention for panic symptomatology. The results indicated that all degrees of severity have a meaningful impact on levels of functioning and are associated with substantial economic costs. Moreover, there was no difference in level of improvement after the intervention between panic subgroups. These findings imply that all degrees of severity in panic are associated with a large burden of disease, incur considerable costs to society, and may benefit from an early intervention for panic.