One hundred Khmer refugees attending a psychiatric clinic were surveyed to determine the prevalence of olfactory-triggered panic attacks as well as certain characteristics of the episodes, including trigger (i.e. type of odor), frequency, length, somatic symptoms, and the rate of associated flashbacks and catastrophic cognitions. Forty-five of the 100 patients had experienced an olfactory-triggered panic attack in the last month. Trauma associations and catastrophic cognitions (e.g. fears of a ‘wind attack,’ ‘weakness,’ and ‘weak heart’) were common during events of olfactory panic. Several case examples are presented. A multifactorial model of the generation of olfactory panic is adduced. The therapeutic implications of this model for the treatment of olfactory panic are discussed. © 2004, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.

Post-traumatic stress disorder Cambodians Panic disorder Panic attacks Olfactory

Smell symptomatology Odors association Panic Disorder refugee Cambodia clinical feature human Refugees middle aged Asian continental ancestry group controlled study nausea disaster ethnology panic dizziness Cross-Sectional Studies psychotherapy Humans male female questionnaire Article olfactory system dysphoria major clinical study adult posttraumatic stress disorder Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic disease predisposition disease severity disease association Fear Somatoform Disorders health survey