Panic disorder (PD) is modestly heritable. The genetic basis of anxiety disorders overlaps with that of other psychiatric disorders and their intermediate phenotypes in individuals of European ancestry. Here, we investigated the transethnic polygenetic features shared between Japanese PD patients and European patients with psychiatric disorders and their intermediate phenotypes by conducting polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses. Large-scale European genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets for psychiatric disorders and intermediate phenotypes were utilized as discovery samples. PRSs derived from these GWASs were calculated for Japanese target subjects [PD patients and healthy controls (HCs) ].The effects of these PRSs from European GWASs on the risk of PD in Japanese patients were investigated. The PRSs from European studies of anxiety disorders were significantly higher in Japanese PD patients than in HCs. Of other psychiatric disorders, the PRSs for depression in European patients were significantly higher in Japanese PD patients than in HCs, while the PRSs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in European patients were nominally lower in Japanese PD patients than in HCs. Of intermediate phenotypes, the PRSs for loneliness in European individuals were significantly higher in Japanese PD patients than in HCs. Furthermore, Japanese PD patients scored nominally higher than HCs in PRSs for neuroticism in European people, while Japanese PD patients scored nominally lower than HCs in PRSs for tiredness, educational attainment and cognitive function. Our findings suggest that PD shares transethnic genetic etiologies with other psychiatric disorders and related intermediate phenotypes.

Obsessive-compulsive spectrum (OCS) has been conceptualized by the consideration that certain disorders characterized by repetitive thoughts and/or behaviors may be continuously related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and suggests that such disorders may be grouped together in the same category. Based on the concept of OCS, indeed, OCD has been categorized separately from other anxiety disorders in DSM-5 and is currently conceptualized as a disorder that is characterized by having preoccupations (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Disorders with phenomenological and psychopathological features similar to those of OCD also consist of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRD) that have been newly introduced into DSM-5. Some OCRDs such as body dysmorphic disorder are characterized by preoccupations and repetitive behaviors or mental acts in response to the preoccupation, while others are primarily characterized by recurrent body-focused repetitive behaviors (e.g. hair pulling and skin picking) and repeated attempts to decrease or stop the behaviors.

In the revision of ICD-11, several new conditions such as hypochondriasis and olfactory reference disorder have been added to DSM-5 OCRDs in order to enhance clinical utility paying special attention to the fact that the ICD will be used to diagnose conditions globally in primary care and specialty settings with varied resources. Further studies should be required to systematically examine whether these goals may be achieved, especially in the clinical practice related to OCRDs defined in DSM-5 or ICD-11.

We investigated factors that impede or promote the connection of individual with social anxiety disorder (SAD) to professional support, and what experience patients receive when receiving professional support. We carried out a qualitative analysis of the content of interviews conducted with 5 individuals with SAD. As a result of it, we found the factors that impeded them were the thinking that “personality rather than illness”, non-understanding of surroundings, and psychological and physical hurdles. Exacerbation of symptoms played a role of a facilitating factor. To promote access to help before symptoms worsen, further improvement of SAD recognition is required. In the experience of receiving professional support, many patients changed the hospital or counseling provider, indicating the need to maintain their motivation to continue receiving support, such as appropriate SAD handling and a polite explanation attitude. In addition, proper psychological education by experts changed the way of dealing with the symptoms, such as not to regard one’s own symptoms as personality and being able to accept one’s anxiety.

This study examines the attentional bias hypothesis for individuals with social anxiety (SA). Socially anxious individuals were hypothesized to exhibit attentional bias towards the gaze direction of others. Participants with high (n=30) and low (n=29) SA detected a direct or averted gaze stimulus in a crowd with distractor stimuli (i.e., stare-in-the-crowd paradigm). Results indicated that the detection speeds regarding direct gazes were similar in both groups. However, the high SA group exhibited quicker detection of averted gazes. These findings suggest that SA decreases attentional bias that preferentially detects direct gazes over averted gazes. Functions of SA and directions for further research are discussed.

The relationship with mom friends can be stressful and can lead to social anxiety disorder in some cases. This case reports the course of treatment when cognitive-behavioral therapy was provided to a woman who was in a social withdrawal state.