Panic Statistics.
U.S. data on panic disorder prevalence, panic attacks, emergency-room presentations, and treatment. Citations on every number.
Panic disorder is less common than generalized worry but tends to be more acute. The National Institute of Mental Health reports past-year panic disorder at about 2.7 percent of U.S. adults, and among those, a large share are rated as serious. Panic also shows up heavily in places that are not psychiatric, most notably emergency rooms, where a meaningful fraction of low-risk chest-pain visits turn out to be panic.
Key numbers at a glance
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The data in detail
Past-year panic disorder by sex
Past-year prevalence among U.S. adults, from the NCS-R estimates reported by NIMH.
| Group | Past-year prevalence |
|---|---|
| U.S. adults overall | 2.7% |
| Women | 3.8% |
| Men | 1.6% |
Source: NIMH, Panic Disorder (NCS-R).
Severity among past-year cases
How past-year panic disorder cases distribute across standardized severity ratings. Nearly half are rated serious, a higher share than most other anxiety disorders.
| Severity rating | Share of past-year cases |
|---|---|
| Serious | 44.8% |
| Moderate | 29.5% |
| Mild | 25.7% |
Source: NIMH, Panic Disorder (NCS-R), Sheehan Disability Scale severity ratings.
Source by source
NIMH, Panic Disorder (NCS-R)
Reports past-year panic disorder near 2.7 percent and lifetime prevalence near 4.7 percent, with a high share of past-year cases rated as serious. The split between panic with and without agoraphobia is also reported here.
Emergency-department chest-pain studies
Cohort studies of patients presenting with chest pain have found panic disorder in roughly one in five to one in four, depending on the setting and screening method. These are clinic samples, not the general population.
Treatment-outcome literature
Trials and meta-analyses of cognitive behavioral therapy and SSRIs for panic report meaningful symptom reduction, with cognitive behavioral therapy among the best-studied options. Effect sizes vary by comparison group and how remission is defined.
What the data isn't
- ·A panic attack is not the same as panic disorder. Isolated attacks are common; the disorder requires recurrent unexpected attacks plus persistent worry or avoidance.
- ·Emergency-department prevalence figures come from selected clinic samples and cannot be read as the population rate.
- ·Severity ratings in survey data are derived from standardized scales, not from a treating clinician's judgment about any individual.
- ·Recurrence and long-term remission figures vary widely by follow-up length and by whether the sample stayed in treatment.
Sources
How to cite
Panic statistics, AnxietyResearch.org, drawing on National Institute of Mental Health panic disorder estimates and emergency-department chest-pain cohort studies. Accessed 2026-06-24. https://anxietyresearch.org/statistics/panic-statistics
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