A review of the literature revealed high comorbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and states of anxiety and depression, indicative of excess, psychiatric morbidity in COPD. The existing studies point to a prevalence of clinical significant symptoms of depression and anxiety amounting to around 50%. The prevalence of panic disorder and major depression in COPD patients is correspondingly markedly increased compared to the general population. Pathogenetic mechanisms remain unclear but both psychological and organic factors seem to play a role. The clinical and social implications are severe and the concurrent psychiatric disorders may lead to increased morbidity and impaired quality of life. Furthermore, the risk of missing the proper diagnosis and treatment of a concurrent psychiatric complication is evident when COPD patients are treated in medical clinics. Until now only few intervention studies have been conducted, but results suggest that treatment of concurrent psychiatric disorder leads to improvement in the physical as well as the psychological state of the patient. Panic anxiety as well as generalized anxiety in COPD patients is most safely treated with newer antidepressants. Depression is treated with antidepressants according to usual clinical guidelines. There is a need for further intervention studies to determine the overall effect of antidepressants in the treatment of anxiety and depression in this group of patients.
In a group of patients with major and predominantly melancholic depression, differentiation according to gender was not important in treatment with common antidepressants. Women appeared to have higher plasma concentrations of tricyclic antidepressants than men. The consequences of this difference for clinical effects are unclear. Gender-specific recommendations for dosing of tricyclic antidepressants may be considered.
Sertraline did not add to the efficacy of an intensive individual counseling program in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. However, given that the end-of-treatment abstinence rate for the placebo group was much higher than expected, it is unclear whether a ceiling effect of the high level of psychological intervention received by all subjects prevented an adequate test of sertraline.
Depression in out-patients suffering from COPD appears to be an independent protector for mortality. Additional studies in larger samples are needed to replicate this finding and to determine possible underlying pathogenetic mechanisms.
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