Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Depression

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease characterized by progressive and persistent limitation of airflow, because of a chronic inflammatory response in the airways and lungs triggered by harmful particles and gases. The most significant risk factors for the onset of the disease are smoking, external, internal and occupational air pollution, infections, genetic risk. Depression is psychiatric entity that is often associated with a lower survival rate and poor social functioning in patients with chronic diseases such as COPD, and the mechanism of their development is multifactorial. The relationship between depression and COPD is most likely bidirectional because depression can be both a cause and a consequence of COPD, yet the exact mechanism of this association remains unclear. These patients may feel useless, often depend on others for their personal care, lose interest in future events, regress and focus their energy on their condition. Depression is often untreated or insufficiently treated in this group of patients, which worsens health status, quality of life and increases overall mortality.