Patterns of personality disorders and disease-related responses in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Summary. Patterns of disease-related psychological response, some of which are anxiety and depression, determine the adherence to treatment, the course and prognosis of the disease. Though an important role of disease-related psychological response is accepted in international guidelines on the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), this problem and the patients' personality traits require further investigations. The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between COPD-related psychological response and personality disorders (PD) in COPD patients. The study sample included 56 patients (mean age 64.6 ± 8.5 years) admitted to a clinical hospital of I.M. Sechenov's Medical University. All patients were observed by a psychiatrist, psychologist and therapist. Psychometric scales (Beck Depression Inventory scale (BDI), projective psychological questionnaires "Color Relation Test" and "Draw-A-Person test") and the Russian-version SF-36 were used. Basic types of COPD-related psychological response and PD have been determined. In hyponosognostic patients (51.9 %), a dissociative PD was predominantly found (34.5 % of patients with this response type); in neurotic hypochondria (health-related anxiety) patients (32.1 %), histrionic PD prevailed (38.9 %); and in depressive patients (8.9 %), hypertimic PD was diagnosed more often (60 %). Personality traits significantly contributed to the COPD-related psychological response. These results could be used to improving the COPD patient's therapy and rehabilitation.