Psychoemotic features, status of cognitive functions and assessment of bronchial asthma patients’ quality of life

Abstract

The worldwide pandemic of bronchial asthma (BA) is creating severe challenges for health care specialists. Asthma patients feature a number of psycho-emotional and cognitive impairments, mark the reduction of quality of life which limits response to therapy. The aim: to investigate psycho-emotional features, state of cognitive function and assess bronchial asthma patients quality of life. Materials and methods: 142 patients (61 men and 81 women) with bronchial asthma aged 19 – 57 y.o. were examined. The main group consisted of 78 patients with an uncontrolled course of asthma (UCBA). 64 patients with controlled asthma (CBA) were included in the comparison group. The subjective assessments of quality of life by questionnaire SF-36, assessment of asthma-dependent quality of life (AQLQ) was made. The patients’ emotional and psychological profile was assessed using the following tests and scales: MMSE, Montreal Scale for Assessing Cognitive Function, Hospital Alert and Depression (HADS) scale with a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the results. Results: According to the results obtained, the averaged profiles of the patients’ quality of life demonstrated the negative effects of asthma, especially its uncontrolled form. There were statistically significant differences in the quality of life in patients with UCBA according to the five criteria of the MOS SF-36 questionnaire as compared to the CBA group ( physical functioning, role-playing, caused by physical condition, general health, social functioning, viability). A comparison of the specific quality of life with the help of the AQLQ questionnaire revealed a significant negative effect of the uncontrolled course of the illness on the patients’ quality of life. The correlation analysis of the relationship between the course of asthma and the parameters of a specific life qality showed a close correlation between the level of asthma control and the overall evaluation of specific quality of life (r = 0 , 62; p < 0.001). The results of neuropsychological examinations in UCBA patients showed the presence of light predemention cognitive impairments. Manifestations of anxiety-depressive disorders were found in 44 (56.41%) patients in the main group, while in the comparison group, the symptoms of anxiety and depression were observed in 14 (21.88%) cases. Patients with UCBA noted a higher level of anxiety (11.5 ± 1.2 versus 6.9 ± 1.4, p <0.05), depression (8.3 ± 2.3 versus 5.6 ± 3.9) on the HADS scale compared with patients with CBA Conclusion: The psycho-emotional features revealed in UCBA patients can determine the prognosis of the disease and justify the expediency of additional diagnostic and therapeutic psychotherapeutic measures.