Immunoglobulin levels in panic disorder patients

The study was conducted to evaluate the serum immunoglobulin levels in patients suffering from panic disorder and to assess the relationship between the changes of immunoglobulin levels and the socioeconomic parameters, as well as nutritional status. 54 panic patients were randomly selected from the Department of Psychiatry, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) and Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh. Fifty two, age and gender matched healthy volunteers (42 males and 10 females, mean age of 30 +/- 6 yrs) were also enrolled in this study. Immunoglobulin levels were measured by turbidimetry method using immunoglobulin kits. It was found that the mean serum immunoglobulin concentrations of IgG, IgM and IgA of panic disorder patients were 0.999 +/- 0.26 (g/L), 0.1 +/- 0.028 (g/L) and 0.194 +/- 0.066 (g/L) respectively whereas the values were 1.24 +/- 0.39 ( g/L), 0.096 +/- 0.022 ( g/L), 0.194 +/- 0.053 (g/L) in healthy volunteers. IgG level in panic disorder patient was found significantly (p <0.05) lower than that of the controls but the change in concentration of IgM and IgA were not significant (p=0.497, p=0.962). Socioeconomic data reveals that most of the patients were from lower income group and educated. BMI (Mean +/- SD) of the patients (22.62 +/- 3.74 kg/m(2)) and controls (23.74 +/- 2.71 kg/m(2)) were well within the normal range. From correlative analysis it has been found that income has significant effect (p=0 .047) on the change of the serum IgG level in panic disorder patient and it was also been justified by the regression analysis (p=0.049). This finding may play a key role in the diagnosis and treatment of the panic disorder patients. Further studies have been suggested with a large number of populations to confirm these findings.