Depression in asthmatic patients associated with increased airway obstruction: Study

Written By : Jacinthlyn Sylvia |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2023-01-05T09:45:34+05:30 | Updated On 5 Jan 2023 12:59 PM IST

A new study published in Respiratory Medicine suggests that people with asthma, untreated depression are linked to airway blockage, although antidepressants change this correlation.

Few research have examined the impact of antidepressants on the association between depression and asthma, and it is unclear if depression is linked to decreased lung function in people with asthma. The purpose of this study, which was developed by Edna Eurdes Theodoro and colleagues, was to determine whether subjects with concurrent asthma and depression who were not taking antidepressants had worse asthma outcomes than asthmatic subjects without depression and whether antidepressants affected this association.

This cross-sectional research comprised asthmatic nonsmokers who were at least 18 years old. Participants completed questionnaires, took a spirometry test, and went to a chest doctor consultation as part of the study. Additionally, binary logistic regression analyses that were crude and adjusted were run.

The key findings of this study were:

1.A total of 309 asthmatic individuals were enrolled, of whom 48 had depression and were taking antidepressants, 52 did not and 209 did not (control group).

2.In comparison to the control group, asthmatic participants with depression who had not previously used antidepressants were more likely to experience uncontrolled asthma symptoms (adjusted OR 3.10, 95CI (1.56-6.15)) and airway obstruction (adjusted OR 2.41, 95CI (1.24-4.69)).

3.Antidepressant users reported greater chances of uncontrolled asthma symptoms than the control group (adjusted OR 3.02, 95CI (1,50-6.07)), but equal risks of airway obstruction (adjusted OR 1.24, 95CI (0.87-1.77)).

In conclusion, the outcome of this study clearly states the association of modifiable behaviors of depression and its impact on airway blockage. Asthma patients should routinely be screened for depression, and doctors should provide antidepressants if depression symptoms call for pharmacological treatment.

Reference:

Theodoro, E. E., Rocha, D. G. da, Bertolino, J. R., Guinossi, R. M., Burch, M. O., Mingotti, C. F. B., Assunção, R. P., & Ponte, E. V. (2022). Evaluating the effect of antidepressants on the relationship between depression and asthma. In Respiratory Medicine (p. 107099). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2022.107099

depressionasthmaRespiratory Medicine

Source : Respiratory Medicine

Jacinthlyn Sylvia

Neuroscience Masters graduate

Jacinthlyn Sylvia, a Neuroscience Master's graduate from Chennai has worked extensively in deciphering the neurobiology of cognition and motor control in aging. She also has spread-out exposure to Neurosurgery from her Bachelor’s. She is currently involved in active Neuro-Oncology research. She is an upcoming neuroscientist with a fiery passion for writing. Her news cover at Medical Dialogues feature recent discoveries and updates from the healthcare and biomedical research fields. She can be reached at editorial@medicaldialogues.in

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751