Anxiety and Depression among Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of anxiety and depression among patients with COPD is significantly higher than the general population; there are serious barriers to the recognition and treatment of these co-morbid conditions. The study aimed to identify the anxiety and depression among patients with COPD.
 Methods: A cross sectional study design was adopted and consecutive sampling technique was used to collect 131 samples. A structured interview schedule of Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory was used.
 Results: Low level of anxiety was found among 83(63.4%) of COPD patients whereas 16(12.3%) had potentially concerning levels of anxiety. It also reveals that 31(23.7%) of the COPD patients were suffering from moderate depression, 14(10.7%) had severe depression whereas 7(5.3%) had extreme depression. A total of 28(21.4%) of them were free from depression. There was association between alcohol consumption and depression (p=0.00). Likewise, there was association between age (p=0.03), educational status (p=0.04), types of family (p=0.00), smoking habit (p=0.01), duration of disease diagnosed (p=0.01) and duration of treatment (p=0.00) with anxiety.
 Conclusions: It is concluded that one fourth of the COPD patients had moderate level of anxiety as well as depression. Additionally, some of the COPD patients also suffered from extreme depression.

The Relationship between Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety and Sociodemographic Characteristics in Individuals with Chronic Diseases

“…Of the participants, 34% showed signs of moderate and 8.7% severe depression. Acharya et al, in their study with patients who had a chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, demonstrated that 23.7% had moderate, 10.7% had severe, and 5.3% had very severe depression (19,20). Abu Ameerh and Hamad, in their study with diabetes patients, demonstrated that 30.3% had moderate, 14.2% had severe, and 3.2% had very severe depression (21).…”