Chronic respiratory diseases affect the personality and emotional state of the people who experience them. Purpose - to determine the incidence of hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) and depressive disorder in patients with organic and functional pathologies of the lungs at the pulmonary department and to assess their impact on the life quality of patients. Materials and methods. We have examined 131 patients aged 6-17, among them there were 54.9% (n=72) boys and 45.1% (n=59) girls. The patients were divided into three groups: the children with somatoform disorder (SD) from the respiratory system 33.6% (n=44), those with bronchial asthma (BA) - 34.3% (n=45) and those with pneumonia - 32.1% (n=42). For the diagnosis of depression we used a questionnaire for children’s depression by M. Kovacs (1992), for the diagnosis of HVS we used Nijmegen questionnaire. To determine the patient’s quality of life we used Pediatric Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (PQ-LES-Q). Results. The main structure of HVS 25 (19.1%) was composed of 17 (68%) children with SD, 5 (20%) children with BA and 3 (12%) children with pneumonia. Mild depression was determined in 56 (81.1%) sick children, an average one was found in 13 (19.9%) sick children. The severity of depression was significantly higher in the patients with SD in comparison to the patients with BA (95% CI: 6.5-15.5; p<0.0001) and in comparison to the patients with pneumonia (95% CI: 3.2-12.0; p<0.0009). The children with SD had the lowest rate of quality of life according to the PQ-LES-Q scale in comparison to the children with BA (95% CI: 5.4-14.6; p<0.0001) and the ones with pneumonia (95% CI: 6.2-12.6; p<0.0001). Conclusions. Hyperventilation syndrome occurs in 25 (19.1%) of the patients with pulmonary pathologies in childhood. In general, 69 (52.6%) of the children had depressive symptoms. Most likely, the basis of low satisfaction with the quality of life in patients with pulmonary pathology might be depressive disorders, as evidenced by the inverse and strong correlation between the data scales for depression and quality of life, whereby r=-0.773 (p<0.0001). The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee for all participants. Informed consent of the child’s parents was obtained for the research. No conflict of interests was declared by the authors. Key words: depression, bronchial asthma, pneumonia, somatoform disorder, quality of life, children.

Annotation. The present work aims to study psychoemotional disorders and somatoform autonomic dysfunction of the respiratory system in children-patients of the pulmonology department and to understand how serotonin, GABA, and vitamin D metabolism disorders contribute to their onset. The study involved 90 children with bronchial asthma (BA), community-acquired pneumonia, and somatoform autonomic dysfunction of the respiratory system (SADRS) aged 11,6±3,3 years, and 30 healthy children of the control group. The children’s depression inventory of M. Kovacs and Spielberger-Khanin was used to diagnose depression and anxiety. ELISA method was used to test blood serum for serotonin and vitamin D, and high-performance liquid chromatography to measure GABA levels. Probability was estimated using the t-test and construction of a 95% confidence interval (CI) for the difference in means, as well as correlation and regression analysis methods. In general, the level of serotonin in patients was lower compared to the control group (95% CI, 0,27 – 0,73 μmol/l, p<0,0001). The lowest level of serotonin was found in patients with BA (95% CI, 0,40 – 0,93 μmol/l, p<0,0001) and SADRS (95% CI, 0,32 – 0,82 μmol/l, p<0,0001) compared to the control group (95% CI, 0,2 – 8,0 ng/ml, p<0,04). Overall, a moderate and inverse correlation between serotonin levels and the severity of depression was found on the M.Kovacs scale where r -0,50 (р<0,0001), a strong and inverse correlation in patients with BA r -0,77 (р<0,022), and a moderate and inverse correlation r -0,55 (р<0,001) in patients with SADRS. A weak and inverse correlation was found between GABA levels and reactive anxiety on the Spielberger-Khanin scale, where r -0,25 (р<0,012) and a moderate and inverse correlation in patients with SADRS, where r -0,42 (p<0,01). Serotonin can play a key role in the development of anxiety and depressive disorders in children with respiratory pathologies. A low level of vitamin D in patients with SADRS may contribute to the development of the pathology. The correlation between the levels of GABA and the severity of reactive anxiety in general and in patients with SADRS, in particular, may suggest the indirect involvement of GABA in the development of anxiety.