RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The presence of asthma may increase the risk for internalizing disorders such as major depression and anxiety. OBJECTIVE: To determine if the diagnosis of asthma in children is associated with other internalizing disorders such as panic disorder, social phobia, separation anxiety, and total anxiety. METHODS: In this analytical, descriptive and comparative cross sectional study, 144 asthmatic and 144 nonasthmatic patients, with ages between 8 and 17 years, were included. We used the GINA asthma diagnostic criteria. We applied the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for diagnosis of internalizing disorders. RESULTS: Asthmatic children had a significant association with panic disorder P 0.001, RP 2.7; with social phobia P 0.026, RP 2.5; with separation anxiety P 0.002, RP 3.3; and with total anxiety P 0.017, RP 2.3. Nonasthmatic children did not have these associations. Asthma severity was intermittent in 36 cases (12.5%), mild persistent in 86 (29.9%) cases, and moderate persistent in 22 (7.6%) cases. We observed no statistically significant relationship between the severity of asthma and the diagnosis of an internalization disorder. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a meaningful association between asthma and internalizing disorders such as panic disorder, social phobia, separation anxiety and total anxiety in children.
