Panic Disorder Among Adults Attending Family Health Centers in Türkiye: A District-Wide Cluster Survey of Prevalence, Comorbidity Burden, and Treatment Coverage

Objective To estimate lifetime and current panic disorder (PD) prevalence and examine medical and current psychiatric burden and treatment coverage among adults attending family medicine health centers in central Türkiye. Method A district-wide cross-sectional survey recruited adult attendees systematically from 28 randomly selected family health centers. Two psychiatrists assessed 1807 participants using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders, Clinician Version. Medical conditions were recorded using a checklist and available records. Prevalence estimates and hierarchical logistic regression were used to examine center-level clustering. Results Lifetime PD was identified in 102 participants (5.6%; 95% CI = 4.4%-6.9%) and current PD in 52 (2.9%; 95% CI = 2.0%-3.8%). In the fully adjusted model, lifetime PD was associated with female sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.87; 95% CI = 1.20-2.93), family psychiatric history (aOR = 2.05; 95% CI = 1.31-3.21), one (aOR = 1.94; 95% CI = 1.11-3.38) or at least two medical conditions (aOR = 2.50; 95% CI = 1.25-5.02), and one (aOR = 1.68; 95% CI = 1.16-2.45) or at least two current non-PD psychiatric disorders (aOR = 3.79; 95% CI = 1.72-8.35). Only 14 of 52 participants with current PD (26.9%) were receiving psychiatric treatment. Conclusions PD was identified in a clinically important proportion of family health center attendees and accompanied by substantial medical and current psychiatric burden. Better recognition, comprehensive assessment, and referral in primary health care may improve treatment coverage in Türkiye.