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. 2017 Feb;14(1):11-21.
doi: 10.1177/1479972316654286. Epub 2016 Jul 8.

With the strength to carry on

Daniel C Keil  1 , Isabelle Vaske  1 , Klaus Kenn  2 , Winfried Rief  1 , Nikola M Stenzel  3
Affiliations

With the strength to carry on

Daniel C Keil et al. Chron Respir Dis. 2017 Feb.

Abstract

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are affected by somatic as well as psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression and reduced quality of life. Protective psychological factors exist which enable people to adapt successfully to disease, but research about these factors in COPD is sparse. The aim of this study was to investigate whether sense of coherence (SOC), resilience and social support are potential protective factors and thus associated with reduced levels of symptoms of anxiety and depression and lower perceived disability in people with COPD. An online study was conducted in which n = 531 participants with COPD completed questionnaires assessing protective psychological factors, anxiety and depressive symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and disease-specific disability (COPD Disability Index). Regression analyses were conducted. SOC and resilience contributed significantly to reduced levels of symptoms of anxiety and depression and to lower disease-specific disability after controlling for confounding variables and disease severity. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were most strongly predicted by SOC. This study's results indicated that SOC and resilience could represent helpful individual resources due to their protective potential helping people adjust to COPD. Limitations and implications of this study are discussed.

Keywords: Anxiety; COPD; depression; quality of life; resilience; sense of coherence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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