Anxiety and depression in COPD

Excerpt

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease associated with chronic systemic inflammatory syndrome [1]. COPD is often associated with comorbidities that need to be evaluated because they affect the severity of the disease. Anxiety and depression are often observed in patients affected by COPD [2]. As pointed out by Tetikkurt and colleagues in this issue of Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine [3], COPD patients have to carry an important psychological burden related to their disease. In addition, in these patients, and due to unknown mechanisms, anxiety and depression increase the risk of re-hospitalization and increase mortality [4‐6]. It is somewhat surprising that the degree of lung function impairment does not explain the level of anxiety and depression seen in these patients. Indeed, in most of the previous studies no correlation was found between the psychological aspects of COPD and the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁) value. Instead, anxiety or depression have been shown to be correlated to the presence of respiratory symptoms. Dyspnea and reduced exercise capacity are the predominant mechanisms leading to anxiety and depression symptoms associated with COPD. …