ANALYSIS OF PSYCHOEMOTIONAL STATE AND INTELLECTUAL ABILITIES IN PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE - PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Background: In the literature we can find examples of comorbidity of the diseases of the respiratory tract and mental disorders. Among them a particularly significant position is occupied by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, which may be accompanied by anxiety, depressive and cognitive symptoms. The present research project was aimed to establish a connection between psycho-intellectual functioning and suffering from the aforementioned diseases. Subjects and methods: The patients were divided into 3 groups. In the asthma group there were 11 people, mean age 54, who met the GINA criteria for asthma. The group of patients with COPD was formed by 12 people, mean age 67. The control group included 13 people, mean age 48. Patients from all the groups underwent spirometry, sputum induction and the following tests: Mini- Mental State Examination (MSSE), Trail Making Test (TMT A and B), Beck Depression Inventory – BDI (Beck et al. 1961) and State- Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults - STAI 1 and 2. Results: In the TMT tests results were the following: We can presume some deficiency when the time required by a patient to complete the task is longer than 78 seconds for Part A and 273 seconds for Part B. In our research the best mean time was obtained in control group (Part A - 30.04 s, Part B – 67.37 s), then in the asthma group (Part A - 35.54 s, Part B – 98.81 s) and in the COPD group (Part A - 42.80 s, Part B – 107.79 s). In our research study the lowest score for the Beck Depression Inventory was obtained in the control group (mean 6.15), then in asthma (mean 9.63) and in COPD (mean 13.61). Results for State-Train Anxiety Inventory were distributed as follows: mean score in the asthma group was 36.48 in Part 1 and 43.27 in Part 2, in the COPD group 36.41 in Part 1 and 42.66 in Part 2 and in the control group 32.61 in Part 1 and 36.75 in Part 2. Conclusions: In our research the level of anxiety and depression measured by self-assessment questionnaires was higher in the study groups than in the control group. Also cognitive functions were worse than in the healthy controls, especially among COPD patients