Asthma and mental disorders in Canada: Impact on functional impairment and mental health service use

Goodwin, Renee D.; Pagura, Jina; Cox, Brian; Sareen, Jitender

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2009.06.005

« Previous Next »Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Volume 68, Issue 2 , Pages 165-173, February 2010

Asthma and mental disorders in Canada: Impact on functional impairment and mental health service use

Renee D. Goodwin
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Corresponding author. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, Rm. 1706, New York, NY 10032, USA. Tel.: +1 212 342 0422; fax: +1 212 342 5170.
Jina Pagura
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Brian Cox
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Department of Community Health Science, University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Jitender Sareen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Department of Community Health Science, University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Received 23 April 2008; received in revised form 21 May 2009; accepted 16 June 2009. published online 05 October 2009.

Abstract

Objective

The goal of this study is to examine the association between asthma and mental disorders and the impact of asthma and mental disorder comorbidity on functional impairment and mental health care service use among adults in the community.

Methods

Data came from the Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 1.2 (N=36,984; age ≥15 years; response rate, 77%). Mental disorders were assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Chronic physical health conditions, quality of life, and disability were also assessed. Asthma diagnoses were based on self-report of having been diagnosed with asthma by a health care professional.

Results

Asthma was associated with a significantly increased likelihood of a range of mental disorders among adults in Canada, with the strongest links between asthma and posttraumatic stress disorder, mania, and panic disorder. Adults with both mental disorders and asthma had significantly higher rates of functional impairment and use of mental health services, compared with those with either asthma or mental disorders but not both.

Conclusions

Our findings provide new information suggesting that adults in the community with asthma and mental disorders have higher levels of both short- and long-term health-condition-related functional disability and greater use of mental health services, compared with those with asthma without mental disorders. Results are also consistent with previous studies showing a significant link between asthma and mental disorders. Implications of these findings for efforts aimed at secondary prevention and improving treatment strategies for individuals with both asthma and mental disorders are discussed.

Keywords: Asthma, Mental disorders, Chronic disease, Health service use, Epidemiology, Comorbidity