• Giorgio Ciprandi, Irene Schiavetti, Elena Rindone, and Fabio L M Ricciardolo.
• Department of Medicine, IRCCS - Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino, Genoa, Italy. Electronic address: gio.cip@libero.it.
• Ann. Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2015 Nov 1; 115 (5): 408-14.

BackgroundAnxiety and depression may frequently affect patients with asthma. However, the findings of several studies are partially conflicting and conducted in selected cohorts.ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of anxiety and depression in a group of outpatients with asthma.MethodsThis cross-sectional, real-life study included 263 patients (109 males; mean age, 39.2 years) with asthma. Clinical examination, lung function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide measurement, Asthma Control Test (ACT) score, asthma control grade, perception of symptoms by visual analog scale, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaires were evaluated.ResultsGlobally, 97 patients (36.9%) had anxiety, and 29 (11%) had depression. Of these patients, 71 had combined anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression were associated with poor asthma control (P =.007 and .02, respectively). Patients with depression had higher body mass indexes (P =.002). Anxiety and depression were associated with lower ACT scores (P < .001 for both). The scores on the anxiety and depression subscales of HADS were moderately related (r = 0.57).ConclusionsThe present real-life study indicates that anxiety and depression are common and relevant comorbidities in asthmatic outpatients and are associated with uncontrolled asthma and lower ACT scores. Thus, assessment of comorbid mental disorders should be performed in common practice.Copyright © 2015 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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