Psychological symptom patterns and vital exhaustion in outpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Athanasios Tselebis,Silvia Dumitru,Athanasios Karkanias,Alexandros Vgontzas,Nikolaos Tzanakis,Epaminondas Kosmas,Nikolaos Siafakas,Ioannis Ilias,Maria Harikiopoulou,Georgios Moussas,Dionisios Bratis,Elpida Theodorakopoulou

doi:10.1186/1744-859x-10-32

Abstract

BackgroundSeveral studies have reported high prevalence of anxiety and depression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outpatients. Moreover, these patients share psychological or psychopathological characteristics that inhibit their ability to cope with the disease. In the present study we aimed to record the prevalence of psychological symptom patterns in a sample of Greek COPD outpatients and to assess which psychological factors (and to which degree) contribute to vital exhaustion (VE).MethodsThe study included 139 COPD outpatients. We used the Symptom Checklist 90 - Revised (SCL-90-R) and the Maastricht Questionnaire (MQ) in order to evaluate psychological symptom patterns and VE, respectively.ResultsThe mean MQ score was 19.6, which is significantly higher than the corresponding score in the general population. Regarding the SCL-90-R dimensions, depression was the highest followed by somatization, obsessive-compulsive and anxiety dimensions. Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between the MQ and the SCL-90-R dimensions. MQ failed to demonstrate correlation with age, gender, education level or the severity of the disease. Depression seems to be responsible for 57.9% of the variation of VE, while obsessive-compulsiveness is responsible for an additional 2.4%. All the remaining dimensions of SCL-90-R had no statistically significant contributions.ConclusionsOur findings suggest the high prevalence of VE, together with high rates in most of the SCL-90-R dimensions with greater depression, somatization, obsessive-compulsiveness and anxiety in a Greek COPD group at various Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) diagnostic criteria stages. The coexistence of such symptoms should be further assessed as an eventual unfavorable prognostic factor.

Highlights

Several studies have reported high prevalence of anxiety and depression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outpatients
There are several studies that have suggested that the prevalence of anxiety and depression is higher in patients with COPD than in patients with other chronic diseases, it is possible that there are certain psychological or psychopathological factors in these patients that influence their ability to cope with the disease [3]
The main findings of our research suggest the high prevalence of vital exhaustion (VE) together with high rates in most of the SCL-90-R dimensions with greater depression, somatization, obsessive-compulsiveness and anxiety

Summary

Introduction

Several studies have reported high prevalence of anxiety and depression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outpatients. These patients share psychological or psychopathological characteristics that inhibit their ability to cope with the disease. In the present study we aimed to record the prevalence of psychological symptom patterns in a sample of Greek COPD outpatients and to assess which psychological factors (and to which degree) contribute to vital exhaustion (VE). There are several studies that have suggested that the prevalence of anxiety and depression is higher in patients with COPD than in patients with other chronic diseases, it is possible that there are certain psychological or psychopathological factors in these patients that influence their ability to cope with the disease [3]. In a previous preliminary study we found significantly high levels of vital exhaustion in patients with bronchial asthma [7]

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