×÷Õߣºsameer singhal1, pankaj banode2, nitish baisakhiya3    

¡¾ÕªÒª¡¿  objective: to determine prevalence of depression in chronic respiratory disorders in a tertiary rural hospital of central india. various studies done in past have shown that prevalence of depression in diabetes and hypertension is around 40%ª²57%. few studies have been done to screen depression in chronic respiratory disorders. this study was conducted in a tertiary rural hospital of central india to find out prevalence of depression in indoor patients suffering from chronic respiratory disorders. methods: total 68 patients were evaluated for depression. patients suffering from chronic respiratory disorders (total duration of illness >3 months) were evaluated using prime md questionnaire. patients suffering from diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, having past history of psychiatric illness, drug abusers, having lack of social support and suffering from chronic upper respiratory tract infections were excluded from this study. questionnaire was asked when treatment for acute phase of illness is over. results: out of 68 patients evaluated, 36 (53%) were found out to be suffering from depression. female gender (80%) was more prone to depression, inspite of the fact that all alcoholics were male. 39% of all chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) patients were suffering from depression in comparison to 65% for pulmonary tuberculosis and 44% for other chronic respiratory illness. 54% of patients suffering from depression are < 30 yrs of age, 53% are between 30ª²60 yrs of age and 52% are > 60 yrs of age, suggesting that age has no relation with depression. no association was seen between alcoholism and depression. conclusion: prevalence of depression in patients of chronic respiratory illness is very high, like in cases of diabetes and hypertension. further community and hospital based studies are needed to find out exact prevalence of depression in chronic respiratory illnesses.

¡¾¹Ø¼ü´Ê¡¿  depression; chronic respiratory illness; prevalence

introduction

    every illness brings some component of depression with itself. most of the times, after cure of illness, those components also disappears. if depression continues untreated, then it can be fatal.  prolongation of those components can be due to many reasons including inadequate control of disease, lack of social support, alcohol dependence, drug abuse, emotional instability, gender, age, etc.various studies done in past shows that prevalence of depression in diabetes and hypertension is around 40%ª²57%£Û1£Ý. very few studies have been done to screen depression in chronic respiratory disorders£Û2£Ý. this study was conducted in a tertiary rural hospital of central india to find out prevalence of depression in indoor patients suffering from chronic respiratory disorders.

    material and methods

    total 68 patients were evaluated for depression. patients suffering from chronic respiratory disorders with total duration of illness >3 months were evaluated using prime md questionnaire£Û3£Ý. patients suffering from diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, with past history of psychiatric illness, drug abusers, lacking social support and suffering from chronic upper respiratory tract infections were excluded. patients were given prime md today questionnaire for screening of depression and later evaluated by psychiatrist before labeling them as suffering from depression. questionnaire was given, when treatment for acute phase of illness is over and contained 9ª²item. each item was a multipleª²choice question with a single answer. it was a selfª²administered questionnaire and all questions were required to be answer. we used hindi and marathi questionnaires depending on preference of the patient.

    results

    out of 68 patients evaluated, 36 (53%) were find out to be suffering from depression. female gender (80%, 12/15) was more prone to depression than male (45%, 24/53), inspite of the fact that all alcoholics were male. 39% of all copd patients were suffering from depression in comparison to 65% for pulmonary tuberculosis and 44% for other chronic respiratory illness. 54% of patients suffering from depression are < 30 yrs of age, 53% are between 30ª²60 yrs of age and 52% are > 60 yrs of age, suggesting that age has no relation with depression (table 1). no association was seen between alcoholism and depression (table 2).

    table 1  depression according to age group and respitatory iuness

    sexage(yrs)disease<30yrs30¡«60yrs>60yrscopdpulmonary tuberlulosisother chronic

    respiratory diseasemale40(4/10)46(12/26)47(8/17)29(4/14)59(17/29)30(3/10)female100(3/3)75(6/8)75(3/4)75(3/4)100(5/5)67(4/6)total54(7/13)53(18/34)52(11/21)39(7/18)65(22/34)44(7/16)

    table 2  depression in relation to alcoholism

    alcoholicnon

    alcoholictotal

    patientsdepression present151934depression absent142034total patients293968

    discussion

    a total of 68 patients were screened applying inclusion and exclusion criteria's using prime md questionnaire. out of them 36 (53%) were found out to be suffering from depression. in a cross sectional study of chronic respiratory patients screened with the prime md, 80% screened positive for depression, anxiety, or both. the predictive value of a positive phone screen for either depression or anxiety was estimated to be 80%£Û4£Ý.

    in above study, 39% of all copd patients were suffering from depression in comparison to 65% for pulmonary tuberculosis and 44% for other chronic respiratory illness. dowson found that 22% of 72 copd patients were suffering from depression£Û2£Ý. a survey of 100 hospitalized tb patients in south africa indicated that 68% had some degree of clinical depression: 22 patients were mildly depressed, 38 patients were moderately depressed, and 8 patients were severely depressed£Û5£Ý. other studies£Û6,7£Ý have indicated that between 24% and 36% of medically ill people meet the criteria for depression. in above study, 54% of patients suffering from depression are < 30 yrs of age, 53% are between 30ª²60 yrs of age and 52% are > 60 yrs of age, suggesting that age has no relation with depression. huffman in metaª²analysis recommends female gender and age < 50 yrs should be screened for panic disorders£Û8£Ý .

¡¾²Î¿¼ÎÄÏס¿
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