Anxiety and lung disease

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new study looks at factors involved in re-hospitalization of those with chronic lung disease.
People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often experience exacerbations of their condition, which can even result in hospital admission. We already know some of the factors that increase the risk of acute episodes of COPD - age, lower lung function, and lower overall health status. Now a team at the Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland, reveals that depression and anxiety also play a part.

They looked at a total of 406 patients in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and found that 60 per cent had a hospital re-admission for COPD during the 12 months of the study. They found that the patients with the highest scores for anxiety and depression had the highest risk of being re-admitted. These patients also had the lowest overall health status. More research is now needed into how these various factors are linked so that those with COPD have a better chance of being stabilized and kept out of hospital.

Source
European Respiratory Journal September 2005

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