Epidemiology of Depression and Associated Factors among Asthma Patients in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Depression in asthma patients can cause worsening of respiratory symptoms. Addressing mental illness in those with asthma improves asthma outcomes. This study aimed to assess the epidemiology of depression and associated factors among asthma patients attending government hospitals in Ethiopia. Methods Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with asthma at three governmental hospitals of Addis Ababa from June to July 2017. Patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression scale was used to assess prevalence of depression among asthmatic patients. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20 statistical software. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify associated factors for depression. To indicate the strength of association, odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used. Result A total of 405 participants were enrolled in the study giving an overall response rate of 96%. The respondents had mean age of 54.46 and standard deviation (SD) of 10.01 years. About 273 (67.4%) were females. The prevalence of depression among asthma patients was 85 (21%). The odds of developing depression among single asthma patients were increased by 1.63 with 95% CI [1. 8, 3.493]. Depression among asthma patients who had comorbid cardiac illness was 6.2 times higher than those who do not have at CI [1.145, 24.109]. The prevalence of depression among uncontrolled asthma patients was 8 times higher than those with well-controlled asthma at CI [1.114, 19.025]. Conclusion One-fifth of asthmatic patients were experiencing depression. Uncontrolled asthma, comorbid cardiac illness, and single patients were important predictors of depression among asthmatic patients. Proper control of asthmatic attack and cardiac illnesses is very important to reduce the burden of depression.

Factors Associated with Anxiety and Depression among Diabetes, Hypertension, and Heart Failure Patients at Dessie Referral Hospital, Northeast Ethiopia

“…This finding is in line with the magnitude of depression among pregnant women in a study conducted at Malaysia (6.9%) [20]. However, this is lower than studies conducted in three public hospitals of Northwest Ethiopia (51%) [15], Addis Ababa (21%) [21], the pooled prevalence of depression among patients with diabetes in Ethiopia (39.73%) [22], Saudi Arabia (37.4%) [19], China (31.4%) [23], and the three Asian countries (39.1%) [18]. The possible justification for this discrepancy might be the difference in tool, source population, and socioeconomic difference.…”

“…The possible justification for this might be the lack of social support for single patients. This finding was consistent with the finding of a study conducted in Addis Ababa [21], Saudi Arabia [19], and Spain [25].…”

“…The association between substance use and depression was not seen. This is consistent with the report of a study conducted in Addis Ababa [21]. However, the association between substance use and depression was reported in different studies [15,26].…”

Elevated Circulating Th2 Cells in Women With Asthma and Psychological Morbidity: A New Asthma Endotype?

“…52,53 Depression and anxiety are higher in those with uncontrolled compared to controlled asthma, 54 with studies reporting 2-to 8fold higher prevalences. 55,56 Our observation that asthmatic patients with depression as a comorbidity and those with stress-triggered asthma had a similar profile of higher circulating Th2 cells would support the evidence that overlapping inflammatory pathways are mediating these diseases. For instance, depression scores correlate with asthma-related quality of life, 57 and studies in twins suggest that there may be shared genetics between asthma and depression.…”

Determinants of Uncontrolled Asthma Among Adult Asthmatic Patients on Follow-Up at Chest Clinic of Jimma Medical Center: Unmatched Case-Control Study

“…The direct health care cost of patients with uncontrolled asthma is four to eight times that of controlled (15,16). Shreds of evidence also revealed that uncontrolled asthma results in higher rates of depression, insomnia, sleep disturbances, and signi cant derangement in health-related quality of life of asthmatic patients (6)(7)(8)(9). Furthermore, patients with asthma will lose an estimated 15.46 million Quality Adjusted Life Years Lost (QALYs) because of uncontrolled asthma in the coming 20 years (10).…”