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Agoraphobia

Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Agoraphobia is a mental health condition characterized by marked fear or anxiety about being in situations from which escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic-like symptoms occur, such as using public transportation, being in open or enclosed spaces, standing in a crowd, or being outside the home alone. The term derives from the Greek word for marketplace, reflecting its original description as a fear of open public spaces, first named by German psychiatrist Carl Friedrich Otto Westphal in 1871.

Facts
Classification
Body System
Nervous System 1
ICD-10 Chapter
V: Mental and Behavioural Disorders 2
Communicable or Non-communicable
Non-Communicable 1
Transmission Route
Non-Transmissible 1
Causative Agent
Causative Agent (category)
Genetic / Hereditary 3
Causative Agent (category)
Idiopathic / Multifactorial 3
First Described
1871 3
Agoraphobia
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Connections

Treated By

Exposure therapy is a standard evidence-based treatment for agoraphobia.

Sources
1. Wikidata: Agoraphobia
Wikidata
  • Wikidata P31 (disease-category: non-communicable)
    Instance of: anxiety disorder
  • Wikidata P31 (body-system: nervous)
    Instance of: anxiety disorder
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: ICD-10
WikipediaList of chapters, Chapter V
Quote, List of chapters, Chapter V
Mental and behavioural disorders
View the Source
3. Agoraphobia (Wikipedia)
  • Term agoraphobia coined by Karl Friedrich Otto Westphal in 1871, Etymology section
  • lead paragraph
    Agoraphobia is believed to be due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
View the Source
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