Adult Anxiety
Ada Moses, B.A.
Post-Baccalaureate Student
Hunter College, City University of New York
New York, New York
Tal Eliyahu, None
Research assistant, undergraduate student
Hunter College, City University of New York
New York, New York
Natalia Provolo, B.A.
Graduate Student
American University
Washington, District of Columbia
.jpg "David L. Yap, M.A. photo")
David L. Yap, M.A.
Graduate Student
Hunter College, City University of New York
New York, New York
Michelle Yu, B.A.
Undergraduate Student
Hunter College, City University of New York
New York, New York
Clara Law, None
Graduate Student
Hunter College, City University of New York
New York, New York
Kathleen C. C. Gunthert, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
American University
Washington, District of Columbia
Evelyn Behar, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Hunter College, City University of New York
New York, New York
Over 80% of menopausal women experience vasomotor symptoms, the most common of which are hot flashes (Bansal, 2019). Hot flashes are characterized by sensations of heat, sweating, and flushing, and may be accompanied by palpitations, chills, and a range of negative emotions (Bromberger, 2003; Kronenberg, 1990). Hot flashes are among the leading reasons for which women seek medical care during the menopause transition, making these vasomotor symptoms an important public health issue (Kronenberg, 2010). Although limited research has demonstrated associations between hot flashes and anxiety (Freeman et al., 2005), no investigation to date has examined the association between hot flashes and panic attacks. Hanisch et al. (2008) proposed that the parallels between hot flashes and panic attacks have been overlooked, particularly with respect to physical and psychological symptoms. For example, hot flashes and panic attacks are both accompanied by sweating, palpitations, nausea, dizziness, difficulty breathing, and a sense of anxiety (APA, 2013; Hanisch et al., 2008; Hunter & Liao, 1995b). Given the commonalities between these two events, empirically comparing hot flashes and panic attacks with respect to interoceptive sensations may improve our understanding of the basic nature of hot flashes and may facilitate the development of interventions to treat menopausal women.
The present study will compare the type and severity of interoceptive experiences reported by two samples of women. Sample 1 (currently being collected) consists of peri- and early post-menopausal women aged 42-60 (N=200). Sample 2 (data collection complete) consists of treatment-seeking women who met diagnostic criteria for panic disorder as diagnosed by the ADIS interview (Brown et al., 1994) (N=200). All participants will have provided severity ratings (on 0-8 Likert scale) of the 13 DSM symptoms of a panic attack; importantly, Sample 1 is not being informed that these are the symptoms of a panic attack. Data collection will be completed by Summer 2022. Sample 1 is also completing the Panic Disorder Self Report, which presents respondents with the DSMdiagnostic criteria for panic disorder. We will compare these data to Sample 2’s ADIS responses (which map on directly to the PDSR items), again to provide a comparison between panic symptoms between these two groups of women.
Because this is the first investigation in a new program of research, and no existing studies have measured the severity of various panic symptoms and interoceptive cues during hot flashes, we do not have specific hypotheses regarding the similarities in panic symptoms and interoceptive severity between these two samples. The study is therefore exploratory in nature. These data will ultimately be used to develop and test the efficacy of interoceptive exposure for hot flashes, and in particular for the distress associated with those hot flashes.
