Panic disorder involves ongoing random panic attacks . Persistent concern about additional attacks. A significant change in behavior related to the attacks. Agoraphobia occurs as a result of the panic disorder. FYI Agoraphobia is often mistakenly defined as a fear of open spaces.
Agoraphobia is three times more likely to be diagnosed in women than in men.
Harvard Women's Health Watch , Aug 2000. A woman can have panic disorder and not experience anxiety about being in public places or in situations where a panic attack could happen. This is diagnosed as panic disorder without agoraphobia. As with most mental disorders , panic disorder doesn't have just one cause. Researchers need to determine if there is actually a hereditary tendency to panic disorder, or if children learn how to deal with anxiety from their environment.