The impact of depression and anxiety on never-smokers COPD patients

Introduction Little is known about anxiety and depression and their impact among never-smokers COPD patients. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of these disorders and their effect on the quality of life and clinical parameters. Methods We carried out a cross-sectional study in two terciary hospitals. The presence of anxiety and depression was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale. The COPD Assessment Test (CAT) was used to evaluate quality of life. The BODE and COTE (COPD specific comorbidity test) indexes were also calculated. The clinical parameters included were dyspnea measured by the modified Medical Research Council scale (mMRC), six minutes walking test (6MWT), exacerbations and body mass index (BMI). Results We enrolled 260 patients, 180 smokers and 80 never-smokers. There were no significant differences in age, gender, forced expiratory volumen in one second (FEV 1 %) and dyspnea (mMRC). The prevalence of anxiety (A) and depression (D) was higher in smokers than in never smokers (A: 66.9% vs. 34.6%, p Conclusions The prevalence of anxiety and depression is lower in never-smokers. These disorders are clearly influenced by clinical parameters in this population.