Quality of life and activity of children suffering from bronchial asthma.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article was to analyze the quality of life of children suffering from bronchial asthma and to analyze their everyday activity. METHODS: The research was conducted in 137 children. The following questionnaires were used in the study: Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ) and a questionnaire designed by the authors specifically for the purpose of the study. RESULTS: The findings of the study show that illness duration (r = -0.2; P = 0.22) and gender (P = 0.37) do not influence the quality of life. It appears that among children ill with asthma a higher level of quality of life is typical for the children who live in the country side in comparison with those from cities (P <0.05). The comparison was also made in terms of everyday activity of children ill with asthma and non-asthmatic children. The children ill with asthma displayed less social contacts with peers/friends (P <0.05) and they performed less physical activities (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The study points to the possible beneficial effects of activating children's social interactions, creating conditions for appropriate development of their social competences, and of stress reduction connected with social interactions. Asthmatic children should also be encouraged to intensify appropriate physical activity.

Asthma, allergy, mood disorders, and nutrition.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence supports comorbidity of asthma and allergies with mood disorders and various connections between these diseases. It still remains unclear whether this comorbidity is caused by the same pathophysiological factors or whether there are other links between asthma and depression. There is no definite answer to the question of an optimal treatment to deal with both asthma and depression, when they occur simultaneously. Epidemiological and clinical trials on the influence of nutrition on certain diseases suggest the effects of omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in aiding treatment of mood disorders and inflammatory conditions. OBJECTIVE: This is an overview showing the connections between asthma, allergic disease, and mood disorders, and the influence of nutrition on these conditions. Evidence indicates positive correlations between consumption of PUFAs and mood correction. Several analyses show the connection between diet and asthma. They may form a basis for potential recommending omega3 PUFAs as an adjuvant in prevention and treatment of mental disorders, asthma, and allergy.

Bond disorders of a patient with asthma: a case study.

The issue of treatment and providing preventive activities in bronchial asthma is still not fully investigated. Besides the medical aspect, psychiatrists and psychologists point to psychosomatic aspects, since psycho-social factors can evoke intensification of asthma symptoms, and also become the consequences of that disease. Previous psychosomatic investigations show that chronic illness makes the patients reveal extended dependence on others. Patients may also tend to perceive other people as being responsible for their health problems. Such an attitude is usually caused by the disease process and the feeling of threat related to disease symptoms. In the present article I discuss the case of a patient with diagnosed bronchial asthma who was in the course of psychodynamic therapy. The aim of therapy was to help the patient in an interpersonal sphere and, when a therapeutic alliance is already established, to support individualization and separation in his previously disordered process of development, and finally to support the process of recovery. The case presented below is one of many others, when patients with chronic diseases, including bronchial asthma, apply for therapy. The adult patients usually complain about discomfort in social situations, sometimes about difficulties with keeping work that they have just got, or, like in this case, about bond disorders which reveal as intrusiveness and adhesiveness.

Psychotherapy of the unemployed: determinants of efficacy.

The unemployment in Poland has recently achieved, and stabilized at, quite a high level. Therefore, the development of psychotherapeutic tools aimed at supporting the unemployed has become an issue of great importance. The number of persons seeking professional help at outpatient mental clinics due to psychosomatic disorders linked to job loss has been sharply on the rise. These patients present with sleep disorders, dysphoric mood changes, sustained somatic pains, lack of goal and satisfaction in life, and the like. This article shows, as exemplified on individual cases and group therapies, the patient's work-up and also the types of activities from the border of medicine and psychology to support the mental state of the unemployed.