Anxiety is common in the "pink puffer" syndrome associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The degree of anxiety correlates well with perceived dyspnoea. This pilot study examines the effect of group psychotherapy on anxiety, exercise tolerance, dyspnoea and quality of life.Ten patients with moderately severe, stable COPD (mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)=1.15 L) had six 90 min sessions of cognitive and behavioural psychotherapy at weekly intervals. Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Medical Research Council Questionnaire (MRCQ) and St George's Respiratory Questionnaires (SGRQ), 1 week before and after therapy. FEV1, forced vital capacity (FVC), slow vital capacity (SVC), blood gas tensions and 6 min walking distance (6MWD) were measured. Eight control patients attended weekly for lung function and 6MWD for 6 weeks, but had no psychotherapy.Mean baseline HADS score was significantly higher in the psychotherapy group (12) than in controls (7), but otherwise there were no differences in lung function, blood gas tensions, 6MWD, or the other questionnaire scores between groups. After treatment, the physiological and psychological parameters where unchanged in both groups with the exception of the mean 6MWD, which had improved in the psychotherapy group only, from 351 to 423 m (p<0.001), an increase of 24%. Three months after treatment, the 6MWD was still 16% above the baseline value (p=0.02).In conclusion, six sessions of cognitive and behavioural psychotherapy produced a sustained improvement in exercise tolerance in a group of 10 anxious patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, without any change in anxiety scores on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Further studies of more prolonged, intensive psychotherapy would establish whether better symptom and quality of life scores accompany more dramatic increases in exercise tolerance in "pink puffers". Eur Respir J 1997; 10: 1581-1584 In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), dyspnoea often correlates poorly with physiological impairment [1][2][3]. Anxiety is closely associated with dyspnoea, and may be one of the most important factors determining quality of life in patients with severe COPD [4,5]. Attempts at improving dyspnoea, by means of psychotherapy, relaxation and retraining of breathing patterns, have met with varying success [6][7][8][9].The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of general cognitive and behavioural psychotherapy, directed by a psychiatrist, on the level of anxiety, quality of life, dyspnoea and exercise tolerance in patients with moderately severe COPD.
Methods
PatientsHospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaires were completed by patients attending the monthly COPD clinic at Lewisham Hospital over a 3 month period. The HADS [10] is a self-administered questionnaire, comprising 14 questions, seven of which are aimed to detect anxiety. Questions are based on psychic symptoms only, without r...