The clinical experience has long been shown to us how panic attacks often have a seasonal appearance, manifesting themselves more frequently in spring and summer, and how patients mainly present panic attacks in the time slot ranging from 6.00 in the morning to 18.00.
It has been hypothesized for some time that the association between Seasonality and panic attacks It could be connected to the brightness variations.
An interesting study by Giulia Campinoti, presented at the last European Congress of Neuropsychopharmacology held in Berlin, noted that the photophobiaunderstood as extreme sensitivity to light, is mainly prevalent in subjects who have a diagnosis of panic attack if compared with a control group consisting of healthy subjects.
The scores indicating the presence of photophobia were even three times higher among the subjects with panic attacks than the controls. This is the first study that specifically investigates a possible association between sensitivity to light and Panic attack disorder.
Several elements already suggested a link between sensitivity to light and panic attacks: for example in some subjects the fluorescent light can trigger panic attacks or it has been noted that subjects with panic attacks often protect themselves from light by wearing sunglasses and this not for phobic social aspects.
In the study of Campinoti, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (Mini) was administered to all participants and the self-compliant version of the Panic-Agoraphobic Spectrum Assessment (PAS-SR) and Photossensitivity Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ) was completed. The PAQ evaluates two aspects of photosensitivity: photophobia and photophilia (being attracted to light).
The subjects affected by any pathology that could have compromised the retinal function, the subjects who had other psychiatric disorders and those who assumed pharmacological therapies (benzodiazepine) were excluded from the study.
As expected the group consisting of subjects with Panic attacks It had high, statistically significant scores, to the Pas-Sr compared to the control group. The new figure was that the former showed high levels of photophobia And low levels of photophilia, always statistically significant, compared to the controls.
When the entire group of participants, panicosis and non-panicosis was assessed, the total scores of the Pas-SR were significantly associated with the PAQ photophobia scores, given that it was confirmed by going to evaluate only the subjects with panic attacks.
Clinical observations detect the presence of a strong seasonal component in the panic disorder associated with high photosensitivity. If these data should be confirmed in the future, they could help to better understand the etiopathogenesis of the disorder, the course and the response to therapies.
It could be assumed that the photosensitivity It represents a characteristic and specific trait within the panic-agoraphobic spectrum that rests on specific biochemical bases that are currently unknown.
Furthermore, one might begin to understand why the anxious components, inserted in depressive paintings, sometimes are accentuated in subjects treated with the light therapy (Light Therapy).
