AB 23. Anxiety and depression in a copd population sample from the general hospital of serres

Background: The study of the frequency of anxiety and depression in patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and their correlation with the severity and management of the disease, the somatometric parameters, subjective dyspnea and the pulmonary function tests.
Patients and methods: Twenty-five consecutive patients with diagnosed COPD who visited the outpatient pulmonology clinic of General Hospital of Serres during 07-09/2012 were studied. The patients underwent spirometry, arterial blood gases analysis, 6 minute walking test (6MWD) and filled validated questionnaires for the detection of anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - STAI-Gr X-2), depression (Beck Depression Inventory - BDI-II), subjective dyspnea (MRC) and level of COPD control (COPD Assessment Test - CAT). The correlation analysis was performed using Spearman’s correlation test and the SPSS v15 software.
Results: The Body Mass Index (BMI) correlated negatively with BDI (r=–0.4, P<0.05). Dyspnea (MRC score) positively correlated with the presence of depression (r=0.61, P=0.001) and anxiety (r=0.6, P=0.001), with CAT score (r=0.8, P<0.001) and negatively with 6MWD (r=–0.55, P<0.007). CAT presented a positive correlation with BDI (r=0.71, P<0.001), STAI (r=0.73, P<0.001) and negative with 6MWD (r=–0.44, P=0.036). Arterial PO2 had a negative correlation with BDI (r=–0.57, P=0.003) and STAI (r=-0.41, P=0.039), whilst BDI had a positive correlation with STAI (r=0.55, P<0.001) and negative with 6MWD (r=–0.43, P=0.039). Finally, STAI score correlated negatively with 6MWD (r=–0.43, P=0.039).
Conclusions: Patients with a lower BMI had higher rates of depression, possibly due to the increased percentage of patients presenting an emphysematic phenotype (as derived by the data analysis from the study population). Both the subjective dyspnea feeling and the poor COPD control showed correlation with high rates of anxiety and depression, as well as with smaller walking distances in the 6 minute tests. Hypoxemia alone significantly correlated with depression and anxiety, whereas these two correlated with each other and with lower exercise capacity.