Depression, perceived stress related to COVID, post-traumatic stress, and insomnia among asthma and COPD patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID pandemic has had a high psychological impact on healthy populations. Increased levels of perceived stress, depression, and insomnia are expected, especially in people with pre-existing medical conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), who seem to be particularly vulnerable. However, the difference in psychological distress frequency between asthma and COPD patients is unknown. Objective: To compare the prevalence of depression, perceived stress related to COVID, post-traumatic stress, and insomnia in asthma and COPD patients at a pulmonology clinic in Santa Marta, Colombia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed. The patients were contacted by telephone. An electronic link was sent to those who accepted. The questionnaire asked for perceived stress related to COVID-19, post-traumatic stress symptoms, depressive symptoms, and insomnia risk. Results: 148 asthma patients and 144 COPD patients participated in, between 18 and 96 years. The prevalence of high COVID-19 perceived stress was 10.6% (n = 31); post-traumatic stress risk, 11.3% (n = 33); depression risk, 31.5% (n = 92); and insomnia risk, 57.7% (n = 169). No significant differences were found between asthma and COPD in indicators of psychological distress. Conclusions: Asthma and COPD patients present similar frequencies of depression risk, COVID-19 perceived stress, post-traumatic stress risk, and insomnia risk during the Colombian lockdown. It is essential to evaluate and manage psychological distress among asthma and COPD patients. It can reduce the risk of exacerbation and improve the quality of life.

Psychological Distress in Patients with Autoimmune Arthritis during the COVID-19 Induced Lockdown in Italy

“…The psychological distress observed in autoimmune arthritis seems to be shared with some chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases [ 50 ], asthma and COPD [ 51 ], cancer [ 52 , 53 ], and psychiatric disorders [ 44 , 54 , 55 ]; whereas patients with other chronic conditions, such as multiple sclerosis [ 56 ] and, surprisingly, patients with diabetes, do not seem to have particularly suffered from the negative psychological consequences of COVID-19-induced lockdown, even though, for diabetes patients, their levels of adherence to treatment and lifestyle habits were reported to be significantly reduced [ 57 ]. The reason for these discrepancies among chronic conditions is difficult to interpret and may be ascribed to differences in study populations, such as age (i.e., older in arthritis than in multiple sclerosis or type I diabetes), gender (i.e., predominance of the female gender in arthritis than in type I diabetes), but also on the illness itself, such as severe inflammatory joint pain, stiffness and, consequently, functional limitation pathognomonic of autoimmune arthritis, which are closely dependent on tight medical monitoring, and can quickly impact the psychological well-being of these patients.…”

Coping with stress during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic by Turkish people with Multiple Sclerosis: The relationship between perceived stress and quality of life

“…Relapses occurred in 17 (8.3%) patients between March 11, 2020 and December 31, 2020. The perceived stress average score of these 17 patients was 20.8 ± 4.5 (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29). There was no difference or relationship between perceived stress and demographic and disease-specific characteristics (Table 1).…”

“…The COVID-19 infection, which was declared as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, has become a life-threatening, traumatic stressor for all humanity ( Anand et al., 2020 ). Therewithal, the fact that chronic diseases are poor prognostic factors, and the short and long-term effects of the virus are not fully known have led to increased levels of fear and stress in many chronic disease groups ( Pedrozo-Pupo and Campo-Arias, 2020 ). Questions about the course of COVID -19 infection in individuals with MS, the effect of COVID -19 on the course of MS, and the side effects that may occur with the used immunomodulatory and immunosuppressant drugs in pwMS were raised as the additional stressor factors.…”

The high mental health burden of “Long COVID” and its association with on-going physical and respiratory symptoms in all adults discharged from hospital

“…One meta-analysis estimated the prevalence of depression and PTSD in the general public during this pandemic at 24% and 15% respectively (3). In adults with pre-existing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the prevalence of depression and PTSD was 31.5% and 11.3% respectively (4). For patients with acute COVID-19 infection, this increased to 42% for depression and 96% for symptoms consistent with PTSD (3).…”