Psychologic symptoms in asthma and chronic urticaria

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Medicine
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Psychological symptoms are common in chronic illnesses.
• Asthma and chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) are conditions that can impact mental health.
• Understanding the psychological burden in these patient groups is crucial for effective management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess and compare psychological symptoms in adult patients with asthma and CIU.
• To compare the psychopathology levels of these patients with healthy controls and psychologically distressed individuals.
• To determine the prevalence of significant psychological distress in asthma and CIU patients.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) to assess psychologic symptoms.
• Included adult patients with asthma (n=102) and CIU (n=74).
• Compared patient groups with normal nonclinical controls (n=252) and "socially isolated" healthy adults (n=383).

Main Results:

• Both asthma and CIU patients exhibited more psychopathology than healthy controls but less than "socially isolated" adults.
• Approximately 40% of patients in both groups had above-normal BSI scores.
• Women with asthma and CIU, and men with asthma, showed significantly higher BSI scores than normal controls; men with CIU did not differ from controls.

Conclusions:

• A substantial proportion of asthma and CIU patients experience psychological distress, particularly women.
• Psychological assessment is vital for comprehensive patient care and treatment planning.
• Integrating mental health support can improve medical therapy outcomes for these chronic conditions.