Depression, anxiety and psychological distress in patients with pulmonary hypertension: a mixed-methods study

Introduction Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a chronic and progressive disease. While prognoses have improved, PH patients still experience side effects and activity restrictions. Accordingly, the key questions asked by this study are ‘How many PH patients have depression/anxiety symptoms?’ and ‘Is t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Takashi Kawakami, Masaharu Kataoka, Daisuke Fujisawa, Yuka Takita, Yuko Takeda, Ardith Z Doorenbos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-01-01
Series:BMJ Open Respiratory Research
Online Access:https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/8/1/e000876.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846157969870290944
author Takashi Kawakami
Masaharu Kataoka
Daisuke Fujisawa
Yuka Takita
Yuko Takeda
Ardith Z Doorenbos
author_facet Takashi Kawakami
Masaharu Kataoka
Daisuke Fujisawa
Yuka Takita
Yuko Takeda
Ardith Z Doorenbos
author_sort Takashi Kawakami
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a chronic and progressive disease. While prognoses have improved, PH patients still experience side effects and activity restrictions. Accordingly, the key questions asked by this study are ‘How many PH patients have depression/anxiety symptoms?’ and ‘Is there a difference in the symptoms and distress factors between pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic PH (CTEPH) patients, and how are they experiencing distress?’Methods A mixed-methods study was conducted to collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data. We administered questionnaires (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7) and then conducted interviews with participants who reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥10).Results Seventy-four participants were enrolled in the study, 25 with idiopathic PAH and 49 with CTEPH. Their average age was 55.2 years (PAH 42.7 years, CTEPH 61.5 years). Overall, 44.6% of participants had mild or more severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥5) and 17.6% had moderate or more severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥10). PAH patients had particularly high depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥5: PAH 64.0%, CTEPH 34.7%; PHQ-9 ≥10: PAH 24%, CTEPH 14.3%). We extracted four common themes from the qualitative interview data on participants’ experience of psychological distress: ‘Loss of myself,’ ‘Isolation from my surroundings,’ ‘Hassle associated with oxygen therapy,’ and ‘Fear of illness progression/deterioration.’ One theme— ‘Suffering from side effects’—was extracted only for PAH patients, while another—‘Rumination on illness due to breathlessness’—was extracted only for CTEPH patients.Discussion and conclusion The study found that PH patients are prone to depression. The identification of factors and themes that influence the psychological distress of PH patients is important information that can be used to improve the support for the physical and mental health of these patients. Interventions for these distress may contribute to improving the mental status of PH patients.
format Article
id doaj-art-a6f44b6b130c43f4b1e2a36f87fe9785
institution Kabale University
issn 2052-4439
language English
publishDate 2021-01-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Open Respiratory Research
spelling doaj-art-a6f44b6b130c43f4b1e2a36f87fe97852024-11-24T20:05:11ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open Respiratory Research2052-44392021-01-018110.1136/bmjresp-2021-000876Depression, anxiety and psychological distress in patients with pulmonary hypertension: a mixed-methods studyTakashi Kawakami0Masaharu Kataoka1Daisuke Fujisawa2Yuka Takita3Yuko Takeda4Ardith Z Doorenbos5Department of Cardiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, JapanDepartment of Cardiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, JapanPsycho-Oncology Division, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, JapanFaculty of Health Science, Tokyo Kasei University, Tokyo, JapanDepartment of Medical Education, Juntendo University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, JapanDepartment of Biobehavioral Nursing Science, College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USAIntroduction Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a chronic and progressive disease. While prognoses have improved, PH patients still experience side effects and activity restrictions. Accordingly, the key questions asked by this study are ‘How many PH patients have depression/anxiety symptoms?’ and ‘Is there a difference in the symptoms and distress factors between pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic PH (CTEPH) patients, and how are they experiencing distress?’Methods A mixed-methods study was conducted to collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data. We administered questionnaires (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7) and then conducted interviews with participants who reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥10).Results Seventy-four participants were enrolled in the study, 25 with idiopathic PAH and 49 with CTEPH. Their average age was 55.2 years (PAH 42.7 years, CTEPH 61.5 years). Overall, 44.6% of participants had mild or more severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥5) and 17.6% had moderate or more severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥10). PAH patients had particularly high depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥5: PAH 64.0%, CTEPH 34.7%; PHQ-9 ≥10: PAH 24%, CTEPH 14.3%). We extracted four common themes from the qualitative interview data on participants’ experience of psychological distress: ‘Loss of myself,’ ‘Isolation from my surroundings,’ ‘Hassle associated with oxygen therapy,’ and ‘Fear of illness progression/deterioration.’ One theme— ‘Suffering from side effects’—was extracted only for PAH patients, while another—‘Rumination on illness due to breathlessness’—was extracted only for CTEPH patients.Discussion and conclusion The study found that PH patients are prone to depression. The identification of factors and themes that influence the psychological distress of PH patients is important information that can be used to improve the support for the physical and mental health of these patients. Interventions for these distress may contribute to improving the mental status of PH patients.https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/8/1/e000876.full
spellingShingle Takashi Kawakami
Masaharu Kataoka
Daisuke Fujisawa
Yuka Takita
Yuko Takeda
Ardith Z Doorenbos
Depression, anxiety and psychological distress in patients with pulmonary hypertension: a mixed-methods study
BMJ Open Respiratory Research
title Depression, anxiety and psychological distress in patients with pulmonary hypertension: a mixed-methods study
title_full Depression, anxiety and psychological distress in patients with pulmonary hypertension: a mixed-methods study
title_fullStr Depression, anxiety and psychological distress in patients with pulmonary hypertension: a mixed-methods study
title_full_unstemmed Depression, anxiety and psychological distress in patients with pulmonary hypertension: a mixed-methods study
title_short Depression, anxiety and psychological distress in patients with pulmonary hypertension: a mixed-methods study
title_sort depression anxiety and psychological distress in patients with pulmonary hypertension a mixed methods study
url https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/8/1/e000876.full
work_keys_str_mv AT takashikawakami depressionanxietyandpsychologicaldistressinpatientswithpulmonaryhypertensionamixedmethodsstudy
AT masaharukataoka depressionanxietyandpsychologicaldistressinpatientswithpulmonaryhypertensionamixedmethodsstudy
AT daisukefujisawa depressionanxietyandpsychologicaldistressinpatientswithpulmonaryhypertensionamixedmethodsstudy
AT yukatakita depressionanxietyandpsychologicaldistressinpatientswithpulmonaryhypertensionamixedmethodsstudy
AT yukotakeda depressionanxietyandpsychologicaldistressinpatientswithpulmonaryhypertensionamixedmethodsstudy
AT ardithzdoorenbos depressionanxietyandpsychologicaldistressinpatientswithpulmonaryhypertensionamixedmethodsstudy