| Learning Objective #1: Identify two subgroups of COPD patients that may require more vigilant screening for anxiety or depression | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Identify three significant correlates of self-reported overall health in the COPD population |
Method: Participants were recruited from a suburban pulmonary medicine practice. A total of 119 people (68.17 ± 8.48 years, 53.8% male, 99% Caucasian) completed the study protocol. Well-being variables in this study were anxiety, depression, life satisfaction, and happiness. Perceived social support and mastery were the coping resource variables. The demographic and patient variables of interest were overall health, home oxygen use, smoking history, age, gender, ethnicity and race, marital status, education, and employment.
Findings: Increasing anxiety was correlated to poorer overall health (Kendall's tau-b = -.177) and being female (r = .247). Increasing depression was correlated to poorer overall health, use of oxygen at home, and smoking history (Kendall's tau-b = -.341, .227, and .165, respectively). Life satisfaction was correlated to poorer overall health and use of home oxygen (Kendall's tau-b = -.315, and .188, respectively). Happiness was correlated to poorer overall health, smoking, and employment (Kendall's tau-b = -.252, .187, and -.171, respectively)and to age (r = -.207). Social support was correlated to overall health (Kendall's tau-b = .141). Mastery was correlated to overall health (Kendall's tau-b = .270) and education (r = .143). Race and ethnicity were unrelated to any of the well-being and coping resource variables. All correlations presented were significant at p < .05.
Conclusions: The significant relationships between overall health and all the well-being and coping resource variables are not surprising, and in the expected directions. Women and patients requiring home oxygen therapy may require more vigilant screening for anxiety and depression than other COPD sub-groups. Those with more formal education reported greater mastery (control) over their situation.