Depression and pulmonary function in outpatients with asthma

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between depression, anxiety and pulmonary function in asthmatics. Thirty-eight adult asthmatic patients underwent psychometric evaluation with the DSSI/sAD questionnaire, fitted in an asthma questionnaire and underwent spirometry. The majority of patients suffered from mild-persistent asthma. Twenty-six reported symptoms of anxiety and 25 reported symptoms of depression. A statistically significant reduction in FEV1 and FEV1/FVC values was observed in asthmatic patients with symptoms of depression. The mean value of FEV1 was 81.84(+/-20.83) in patients without symptoms and 63.73(+/-17.99) in patients with symptoms of depression. The mean values of FEV1/FVC were 0.85(+/-.11) and 0.75(+/-0.10), respectively. These findings indicate a high frequency of depression and anxiety in adult asthmatic patients. A biological linkage between depression and impaired pulmonary function is proposed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.