Psychological distress and health-related quality of life among stable patients with bronchiectasis

Bronchiectasis is characterized by chronic symptoms and impaired physical activity. Anxiety and depression usually complicate chronic illness. Thus, underdiagnosis of psychological distress in bronchiectasis may lead to increased morbidity and mortality.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of physical illness on psychological distress and its association with health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

This is a cross-sectional study of adults with bronchiectasis. Patients completed a study questionnaire, the hospital anxiety and depression scale and the World Health Organization quality of life brief (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. Physical examination was conducted on all participants.

103 patients were recruited for this study: 54 males (52.4%) and 49 females (47.6%). The average age of the patients was 49.12 ± 14.37 years. The most common predisposing factor for bronchiectasis amongst the patients was previous pulmonary tuberculosis (51 patients, 49.5%). Chronic productive cough, which was reported by 98 of the subjects (95.15%), was the most common symptom. 89 subjects (86.41%) reported episodes of shortness of breath, 82 (79.61%) reported at least one episode of exacerbation, while 52 subjects (50.49%) were hospitalized for bronchiectasis in the previous 12 months. 23 subjects (22.3%) had anxiety and 32 (31.1%) had depression. Anxiety and depression were significantly associated with indicators of severe disease. The subjects recorded low HRQOL scores across all domains. Psychological distress displayed a significant negative association with all the quality-of-life domains except between anxiety and social interaction.

Symptoms of depression and anxiety are common among patients with bronchiectasis and these symptoms have a negative impact on HRQOL.