Illness perception in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate illness perception in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and to explore its relation to socio-demographic and illness/treatment-related characteristics. 44 consecutive COPD patients answered the general questionnaire (which identified data on gender, age, education, economic status, employment, personal estimate of family relations quality) and IPQ-R (which evaluates the illness perception components). The data were statistically processed using T-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, one way anova, and correlation analysis. COPD patients perceived their illness predominantly negatively. The markers of negative illness perception were female gender: older age, medium economic status, being employed, and high number of hospital treatments. The self report of good family relations was associated with both positive (strong belief in personal control) and negative illness perception (belief in serious consequences). Believing that external causes were predominantly responsible for the illness onset was related to the positive illness representation and to a lower education level. Illness perception in COPD patients is negative and associated with certain socio-demographic and illness/treatment-related characteristics; this may have implications for detecting and modifying negative perception patterns in patients at risk.