ABSTRACT
Depression is one of the common problems of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]. Depending on the severity of lung disease in patients and the kind of study, the prevalence of depression has been reported to lie between 10%-80%. Depression may not be diagnosed in routine examinations, so the patients may not receive appropriate treatment. Due to the lack of similar studies in Iran, the main purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression in COPD patients in Qom. In this cross-sectional study, 207 known cases of COPD were evaluated for depression and its severity by using standardized tests of Beck depression screening. Other variables in the study such age, sex, educational level, marital status and smoking rates were taken into account. SPSS version 15 and Chi square test were utilized for data analysis [p<0/05]. Data analysis showed that 83.3% of patients suffer edfrom varying degrees of depression, of whom 12.9% had severe or very severe depression. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between depression and education level. Depression is one of the common problems in COPD patients reducing their quality of life. It can be treated by physicians which can lead to improved quality of life for these patients