Effect of a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program on the levels of anxiety and depression and on the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: To analyze the effect of a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program (PRP) on the levels of anxiety and depression and the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Method: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who completed the PRP of 3 weekly sessions of 60 min duration for 12 weeks, a total of 36 sessions, were assessed using Beck Inventory (BAI and BDI) and Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ).
Results: A total of 125 individuals, with an average age of 63.7 ± 8.8 years, FEV1: 1.17 ± 0.57L (43.18 ± 18.79% predicted), 61.6% male and 38.4% female, were analyzed. The BAI and BDI before and after PRP were, respectively, 10.15 ± 6.32 vs. 7.67 ± 7.21; p=0.0041 and 12.60 ± 7.99 vs. 8.96 ± 7.29; p=0.00016. The results of the SGRQ domains were, respectively, Before and After symptoms (48.53 ± 20.41 vs. 32.58 ± 18.95), Activity (69.15 ± 20.79 vs. 52.42 ± 23.70), Impact (32.92 ± 18.29 vs. 20.27 ± 16.70), Total (46.69 ± 16.90 vs. 32.07 ± 16.96). When correlating the BDI to the domains of the SGRQ, weak correlations were observed (Symptoms r=0.22; p=0.01; Activity r=0.28; p=0.001; Impact r=0.52; p=2.72; Total r=0.44; p=0.17). In the same way, weak correlations were observed when correlating the BAI to the SGRQ (Symptoms r=0.28; p=0.0009; Activity r=0.32; p=0.0005; Impact r=0.42; p=7.33; Total r=0.43; p=0.74).
Conclusion: Although the PRP improves levels of depression and anxiety as well as the quality of life in patients with COPD, no significant correlation of these analyzed variables was observed.
(Copyright © 2013 Sociedade Portuguesa de Pneumologia. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.)