IMPROVEMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS WITH THE TREATMENT OF ASTHMA
Fatma Fidan 1 * , Mehmet Ünlü 1, Murat Sezer 1, Ömer Geçici 2, Murat Hemül 2
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1 Afyon Kocatepe University School of Medicine, Department of Chest Diseases, Afyon, Turkey2 Afyon Kocatepe University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Afyon, Turkey* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the psychological status of patients with currently diagnosed asthma at the time of diagnosis and in the follow-up after the inhaled steroid treatment is initiated. Methods: Patients with mild and moderate persistant asthma were accepted to the study. Patients with a previous history of psychiatric disease were excluded. Symptom Check List-90- Revised (SCL-90-R) test was performed to currently diagnosed asthma patients. SCL-90-R test was repeated 3 and 6 months after the treatment was initiated. Evaluating the test, global severity index and symptom sub-indices (somatization, obsessive-compulsive signs, depression, anxiety, hostility, fobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism) were obtained. Results: Twenty five female and 5 male patients were accepted to the study. Mean age was 41.2±15.1 years. There was a significant decrease in global severity index in the 6th month according to the basal values. Significant decrease in the scores for depression, anxiety, paranoid ideation in the third month (p=0.046, p=0.047, p=0.047 respectively) and for somatization (p=0.012), obsessive-compulsive signs (p=0.037), depression (p=0.001), anxiety (p=0.003), hostility (p=0.021), paranoids ideation (p=0.003) was obtained in the 6th month according to the basal values. Conclusion: Asthma treatment improves psychological status of the patients with bronchial asthma. This was considered to be related with the relief of the symptoms of asthma.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Original Article

EUR J GEN MED, 2006, Volume 3, Issue 1, 1-4

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/82342

Publication date: 15 Jan 2006

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