Depression Can Worsens Asthma, Asthma Can worsens Depression

stress or depression are often blamed to be the cause or trigger some diseases. People with asthma tend to show an increase in psychiatric problems including depression. Conversely patients with depression increasingly frustrated at his inability to recurrent asthma care of themselves.

Surveys conducted in Turkey showed that symptoms of depression often occur together with unhealthy habits are common in many asthmatics.

Aviva Goral MSc from the Unit of Mental Health Epidemiology and Psychosocial Aspects of Illness, Tel Hashomer and colleagues have examined as many as 9509 adults in Israel.


The results showed that the symptoms of mild depression may be associated with such risk factors associated with smoking, physical activity, and lack of sleep.

The findings are in line with other studies that found that, health-related risk factors for the negative result of poor asthma control and may lead to development that leads to the relationship between asthma and depression.

The survey results showed that survey participants who have asthma and have symptoms of depression is approximately 37.4 percent compared with 21.8 percent of people who have symptoms of depression but not with asthma.

As quoted from Medical News Today, Friday (28/10/2011) based on studies reported by Goral and colleagues at the General Hospital Psychiatry shows that people with asthma with symptoms of depression are more at risk of having unhealthy behaviors, such as:
1. Physical inactivity
2. Smoke
3. Sleep less than 6 hours at night

Overall, adult asthmatics showed an increase in psychiatric problems, including depression, which in turn could have an adverse impact on asthma control they experience.

This can be termed as a vicious circle, where people with depression can not take care of themselves so that they experience worsening asthma.

Thus causing them to become more depressed, and caused them increasingly unable to take care of themselves. Reciprocal link between depression and asthma not only exacerbate the risk of morbidity and mortality, but also can lead to greater psychiatric morbidity.

The researchers concluded that physicians should be aware of the overlap between asthma and depressive symptoms, even in patients who have not been diagnosed with depression specifically.

It remains to be done several studies to be able to find a causal mechanism clearer health conditions and symptoms of mental disorders.