A new study, published in CHEST Journal, demonstrates a link between an exacerbation of COPD in patients and depression.
Patients who had pre-existing depression or developed depression after COPD diagnosis were more likely to experience heightened COPD symptoms, such as increased breathlessness, reduced exercise tolerance and hopelessness.
Patients with the obstructive lung condition and depression also performed worse than COPD patients without depression in exercise tests, showing a pronounced loss in performance in their daily activities.
The results have implications for healthcare practitioners who could potentially screen for mental health problems periodically in those patients with a history of difficulty coping at home, poor adherence to therapy or experience of a recent bereavement, in a bid to reduce COPD-related hospital readmission.