Psychological characteristics of patients with asthma

Psychological distress and associated factors among asthmatic patients in Southern, Ethiopia, 2021

BACKGROUND

There is an increased prevalence of psychological distress in adults with asthma. Psychological distress describes unpleasant feelings or emotions that impact the level of functioning. It is a significant exacerbating factor in asthma control. Addressing factors that contribute to psychological distress in those asthma patients improves asthma outcomes. So, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of psychological distress and associated factors among asthmatic patients at Hawassa public hospitals, Ethiopia, 2021.

METHODS

Institution-based cross-sectional study design was used to select 394 asthma patients. Proportional allocation and systematic sampling techniques were used to select study participants. A logistic regression model was used to assess the predictors and psychological distress of the asthmatic patient. The association was interpreted using the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval.

RESULT

A total of 394 asthma patients participated in the study, giving a response rate of 93.4%. The prevalence of psychological distress among asthmatic patients was 51% [95%CI: 46%-56%]. Participants who had comorbid medical illness [AOR: 6.049, 95% CI (3.131-11.684)], experienced stigma [AOR: 3.587, 95%CI (1.914-6.723)], chewed khat [AOR: 7.268, 95%CI (3.468-15.231)], had poor social support and had uncontrolled asthma were significantly associated with psychological distress in asthmatic patients.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that the prevalence of psychological distress was found to be high among asthmatic patients. Social support, stigma, chewing khat, comorbid medical illness, and poor asthmatic control had significantly associated with psychological distress in asthmatic patients.

Bronchial asthma control degree and the temperament structure according to the Eysenck model

Introduction

Asthma is a disease of a psychosomatic nature. The control of asthma is still poor in approximately 5% of patients, despite introduction of modern inhalant drugs and psychotherapeutic interventions.

Aim

To evaluate whether the degree of bronchial asthma control is related to the characteristics of temperament according to Eysenck’s concept.

Material and methods

The study was conducted on a group of 111 bronchial asthma patients and 44 healthy subjects. In all of them, the Eysenck temperament questionnaire was administered and the level of asthma control was determined.

Results

Increase in the scale of neuroticism was associated with an 1.83-fold increase in the likelihood of poor asthma control. Increase in the result on the psychoticism scale and lie scale of about one point was associated with a slightly smaller increased risk of poor asthma control (respectively: 1.49-fold and 1.61-fold).

Conclusions

The structure of temperament of a person with poor control of bronchial asthma can be characterized. Patients with poor asthma control have a higher level of neuroticism, psychoticism and propensity to lie, compared with the healthy population and subjects with good or partial bronchial asthma control.