PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY DISORDERS IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE ASTHMA

Abstract

Introduction: Asthma is a highly prevalent disease in Brazil and worldwide; the condition remains poorly controlled in a specific number of patients, a fact that contributes to a worsening of quality of life and burdens the health system. Objective: To analyze the prevalence of anxiety and depression disorders in a group of asthma patients, and compare it with clinical and collected data in the sample, such as the level of asthma control findings, and other clinical aspects of this population. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional study in 41 patients under treatment at the Severe Asthma Outpatient Clinic of the Federal University of Parana. Asthma Control Test  (ACT)  and Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-5) were applied to assess the asthma control status, and characteristics with potential influence on asthma control, such as age of disease onset, airflow limitations (VEF1%), number of exacerbations , and gender;   anxiety and depression were evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I), Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventory (BAI and BDI).Finally, data of anxiety and depression were correlated with the variables mentioned above. Results: The prevalence of depression was significantly higher among patients with uncontrolled asthma than among those with controlled asthma, both in the ACQ-5 (4 times higher values) and ACT classification. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of anxiety, however, the overall prevalence of anxiety and depression disorders in the study were 58,5% and 48,8%, respectively. Both anxiety and depression /prevalence/ were superior in the early-onset asthma sample when compared to the group of patients with late-onset asthma. Conclusion: In this study, a high prevalence of depression and anxiety disorder was found in severe asthmatic patients, which corroborates our initial hypothesis that there is an inherent link between the severity and control of asthma and these comorbidities.