Severity of Anxiety Disorders in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

OBJECTIVE Patients with chronic physical diseases sometimes show increased loss of function; such patients need more care. Anxiety is a well-known symptom that is prevalent among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients that can prolong and increase the risk of hospitalization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the severity of anxiety in the mentioned patients and to examine the presence of symptoms and appropriate treatment strategies to understand the role of psychological functions in physical patients. Methods : This was a cross sectional study conducted in Masih Daneshvari Hospital. One hundred forty- three patients entered into the project by accessible method and signed the informed consent; they filled demographic information and Hamilton anxiety and depression questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS-16. Results : Of the participants, 68% were above 60 years of age; 78% were male; 89% were married; and 38% were self-employed. Also, among the participants, 51% were illiterate; 72% had history of smoking; 46% had history of substance abuse; and 49% had moderate to severe anxiety disorder. Moreover, of the patients with severe anxiety, 41.3% had severe muscle spasms; and severe sleeplessness was found in 38.5% of those with severe anxiety disorder. Severe anxiety related symptoms were found in 20.3% of the patients with severe anxiety disorder. Depressed mood was found in 27.3% of the patients with severe anxiety disorder. Severe physical and muscular signs were found in 35.7% of those with severe anxiety disorder. Conclusion : According to our findings, many chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may contain anxiety and depression which result in vulnerability. Therefore, evaluation of anxiety in such patients is of importance for alleviating the disease.