Psychological assessment of patients with bronchial asthma: focus on some predictors of abnormalities

Abstract

Abstract Background Bronchial asthma is a common chronic respiratory illness. Psychiatric comorbidity is a neglected zone in the care and management of such important physical disorders as bronchial asthma. Objective The present study targeted a population sample of out-patient asthmatics, aiming at detailed psychocognitive evaluation. Predictors of depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment were searched for by detailed assessment of patient sociodemographic and disease-related criteria. Patients and methods A total of 50 patients with confirmed asthma diagnosis were recruited and subjected to detailed respiratory and psychiatric evaluation using Mini-Mental State Examination, Beck Depression Inventory-II, and Taylor manifest anxiety scale tests. Results Mild, moderate, and severe depression were diagnosed in 26, 28, and 14% of patients, respectively, whereas mild, moderate, and severe anxiety were revealed in 32, 34, and 20%, respectively. Overall, 54% of the patients showed cognitive impairment. Asthmatic female patients were more common to have depression (P=0.022). The present analysis showed that predictors of cognitive impairment were older age, increasing frequency of hospital admission for asthma in the past year, improper adherence to treatment, and uncontrolled asthma. Meanwhile better education level proved to be protective from abnormal cognitive function. Conclusion There was high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and cognitive dysfunction among asthmatic patients in Sohag University. Improving patient education, patient adherence to treatment, and asthma level control may lessen the chance of cognitive abnormality.