The Relationship between Quality of Life and Comorbid Depression or Anxiety in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: It is well known that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) show symptoms of depression and anxiety more often than patients with other chronic illnesses or the general population. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of depression and anxiety on quality of life in patients with COPD. METHODS: Quality of life was assessed using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire and depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorder Patient Health Questionnaire (PRIME-MD PHQ) in 129 patients with COPD visiting an outpatient clinic. We examined the correlations between the SF-36 scores and clinico-demographic features by Pearson's correlation analysis and the influence of depression and anxiety symptoms on the SF-36 scores by multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 129 patients, 48.8% were diagnosed as having major depressive syndrome, 18.6% other depressive syndromes, 23.3% panic syndrome, and 30.3% other anxiety syndrome by the PRIME-MD PHQ. The physical component summary was affected the most by depressive symptoms followed by dyspnea (P<0.05). The mental component summary was only affected by depressive symptoms (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms in COPD patients is markedly increased, and depressive symptoms decrease the quality of life in these patients. Thus, there is a need for physicians to assess for and recognize such symptoms and promptly administer appropriate interventions.