Abstract
BackgroundMany studies have attempted to delineate the relation-ship between the input in family support (FS) of patientswith acute or chronic disease, as well as the effect ofthis support in the confrontation of illness. These stu-dies showed a negative cross-correlation between thesense of family support and depressive or anxiety symp-toms [1,2]. On the other hand, it has been observed thatthe presence of vital exhaustion (VE), characterized byunusual tiredness, is an aggravating factor, especially inpatients with cardiovascular diseases [3,4]. Aim of thestudy is to investigate the association between the senseof family support and the degree of vital exhaustion inpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).Materials and methodsOne hundred and four (87 males and 17 females) out-patients with COPD participated in the study. Familysupport and vital exhaustion were assessed by using the13-item Julkunen Family Support Scale (FSS) and theMaastricht Questionnaire (MQ), respectively. Age andeducation level were also recorded.ResultsMean age was 65.3 (± 8.1) and mean education levelwas 10.97 (± 4.2, in years). As to clinical measurements,mean FSS score was 54.87 (± 7.1), whereas mean MQscore was 19.83 (± 8.46), which is significant higherthan the corresponding score (14.94) of the generalpopulation (sample t- test p 0.05). In contrary, a strongnegative correlation was presented between FS and VE(Pearson correlation p < 0.05).ConclusionsVital exhaustion seems to be present also in patientswith COPD. However, further studies are required inorder to clarify its associations with the comorbidities ofdepression and anxiety, which are common in thesepatients. Finally, our findings suggest the protective roleof the sense of family support against vital exhaustion.
Highlights
Many studies have attempted to delineate the relationship between the input in family support (FS) of patients with acute or chronic disease, as well as the effect of this support in the confrontation of illness
Materials and methods One hundred and four (87 males and 17 females) outpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) participated in the study
No correlation was observed between age, education level, FS and vital exhaustion (VE)
Summary
Many studies have attempted to delineate the relationship between the input in family support (FS) of patients with acute or chronic disease, as well as the effect of this support in the confrontation of illness. These studies showed a negative cross-correlation between the sense of family support and depressive or anxiety symptoms [1,2]. Aim of the study is to investigate the association between the sense of family support and the degree of vital exhaustion in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
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