Panic disorder and psychoactive substance use in primary care.

Objective: To identify the association between panic disorder and licit and illicit substance use in the population provided with primary care in the southern Brazil.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with patients from three primary care centers. We used the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) to evaluate substance use and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) to diagnose panic disorder.

Results: A total of 1,081 subjects were evaluated. The prevalence of panic disorder was 5.6%. Panic disorder was associated with using marijuana (p = 0.001), tobacco (p = 0.001), cocaine (p < 0.001), and other illicit substances (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: A significant association is noticed between panic disorder and licit and illicit substance use, thus, it is interesting to rethink the approach to treatment/intervention in patients with dual diagnosis.