Comparison of Frontal QRS-T Angle in Patients with Panic Disorder and Healthy Control Group: A Preliminary Study

Background: Autonomic instability is blamed for panic disorder pathophysiology. It has been suggested that this may raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. A new proposal for ventricular depolarization and repolarization impairment is the frontal QRS-T angle.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 61 patients with panic disorder and 73 healthy controls were included. The severity of panic disorder was evaluated using the Severity Measure for Panic Disorder— Adult. Electrocardiography, echocardiography, hemogram, and biochemistry data were recorded.

Results: Patients with panic disorder had a greater frontal QRS-T angle than healthy controls. In panic disorder patients, the values for hemoglobin, eosinophil count, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were all significantly lower than healthy controls. In comparison to healthy controls, panic disorder patients had significantly higher values for total cholesterol, fasting triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio. Significant correlations were found between frontal QRS-T and Severity Measure for Panic Disorder—Adult, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio. The frontal QRS-T value is positively and significantly predicted by the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio value according to the linear regression analysis for the frontal QRS-T angle [F(6.54)=8.375, P < .001, adjusted R2 : 0.424].

Conclusion: The current study found that the frontal QRS-T angle increased with the severity of the disease in patients with panic disorder. Frontal QRS-T angle may help to estimate cardiovascular disease risk in patients with panic disorder. This relationship may be necessary in terms of cardiovascular events and inflammatory conditions.

Cite this article as: Abuş S, Kapıcı Y, Ayhan S, Tekin A. Comparison of frontal QRS-T angle in patients with panic disorder and healthy control group: A preliminary study. Psychiatry Clin Psychopharmacol. 2023;33(1):8-13.