Agoraphobia With and Without Panic Disorder: A 20-Year Follow-up of Integrated Exposure and Psychodynamic Therapy.

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to compare the 20-year outcome in panic disorder with agoraphobia (PD with AG) and agoraphobia without panic disorder (AG without PD) patients after inpatient psychological treatment. Of 53 eligible patients having completed a medication-free integrated exposure and psychodynamic treatment, 38 (71.7%)-25 PD with AG and 13 AG without PD patients-attended 20-year follow-up. AG without PD patients improved less than PD with AG patients did on primary outcome measures. In the PD with AG group, there were large uncontrolled effect sizes (<-2.30). More of the AG without PD patients had avoidant personality disorder at pretreatment, but the presence of this disorder did not predict outcome. The follow-up results support that PD with AG and AG without PD are two different disorders. The results also suggest that the very long-term outcome in PD with AG patients is excellent for this integrated treatment.