Early Trauma Is Associated with Poor Pharmacological Treatment Response in Patients with Panic Disorder

OBJECTIVE: Pharmacotherapy is established as an effective method for reducing symptoms of panic disorder (PD). However, about 20–40% of PD patients are treatment-resistant. Predictors of pharmacotherapy outcomes for PD patients are needed. METHODS: This study included 152 PD patients to measure the clinical severities of PD symptoms and used the Early Trauma Inventory (ETI) to measure early trauma. Treatment response was defined as a 40% reduction in the total Panic Disorder Severity Scale score from baseline. We measured the treatment responses at 8 weeks and 6 months. Binary logistic regression was used to predict treatment response after controlling for confounding variables. RESULTS: Early sexual trauma alone was associated with poor treatment response at 8 weeks. However, at 6 months, the total ETI score was associated with an unfavorable treatment response. CONCLUSION: Therefore, our study suggests that clinicians need to be aware of a history of early trauma to optimize treatment outcomes for PD patients.