COPD and Mental Health

[Deleted]

News briefs from the journal Chest, July 2007 Public release date: 9-Jul-2007

Jennifer Stawarz
American College of Chest Physicians


Psychiatric Disorders Prevalent Among Patients With COPD
A new study shows that COPD patients experience significantly more psychiatric
problems than those in the general population. Canadian researchers conducted
psychiatric interviews and spirometry testing among 62 women and 54 men who had
stable COPD. Results indicated that the overall prevalence of psychiatric
disorders was 49%, a prevalence that is at least three times higher than that in
the general population. Furthermore, psychiatric disorders were nearly two times
higher in women than in men, while women also showed greater psychological
distress, worse perceived control of symptoms, and greater functional
impairment, despite having comparable COPD severity scores. This study appears
in the July issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of
Chest Physicians.


Perhaps this explains the behaviour of some of us.

Joe - Tx

[morningstar]

Thanks Joe for sharing you info. I agree to a point there does seem to be some depression that comes with the dx. But, I am not sure that it is any than is when others our dx with other disease.

Rosemarie

[Blossom/Jackie W.]

The prevalence /overall psychiatric increase in people with COPD does not surprise me. Especially when you consider the "lack of" darn near e'thing....from adequate support networks, to knowledge by our our physicians, to the general public; and even our own families. Then; let's couple it with some popular misconceptions i.e. death and the "how."

I recently viewed a video (not one that you had posted) but another, on another forum. I was appalled and frankly failed to see what the point was.

As for women and the severity etc; it's been studied and the bottom line is that Male A and Female A; same degree of disease etc.....women have smaller lung capacities just as they have smaller muscle mass. No surprises there. Then when you combine that with the need; for most females, to be the "nurturer" or "comforters"; the if they cease feeling that they are........I rest my case.

Come visit me anytime in the middle of the night . I won't need any added testosterone I'll tell ya. ;D

[cocojax]

If I was the general public, I would be able to hold down a full-time job, look after my house, laundry, kids, grandchildren, hubby, shopping, gardening, car maintenance etc. like I used to without being SOB.

I agree with Jackie women are the nurturer's, I think that if you asked most of us we are not so concerned with ourselves but what effect this has on our loved ones. Most of us here are trying to take back some control of our lives, by exercising, eating right, and keeping informed. I think women tend to go to he Dr. more and so we are more cognizant of what is going on with our symptoms.

Sometimes I think we do not require clinical studies to see what is right in front of our faces, any one of us women on this site could have told them we get depressed, who the heck would not. What kind of and I quote "psychiatric disorders" are they talking about? 62 women and 54 men=116 people I'm wondering how valid the survey is considering Official statistics show that more than 714,000 Canadians have been diagnosed with COPD; this is 2.3 % of the Canadian population. That is only people that have been diagnosed.

Sorry for the rant.

[Deleted]

Cheryl from " Living with Copd " posted the this URL
www.medpagetoday.com/Pulmonary/SmokingCOPD/tb/6121

Goes into much more detail than the 1st message I posted.

Joe - Tx

[larrynz]

Yes we do have a lot to be depressed about, lack of medical support, poor research etc etc. Mostly we can fight of this depression with positive thoughts, concentrating on the good things we can still enjoy.
My own thoughts are that the number one cause of mental problems is lack of oxygen, after all if a healthy person climbs a high mountain without oxygen they hallucinate.
A study of the same people with and without supplementary oxygen would be interesting.