Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T07:39:20.284Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Severity and persistence of asthma and mental health: a birth cohort study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2012

R. D. Goodwin*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, New York, USA Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
M. Robinson
Affiliation:
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
P. D. Sly
Affiliation:
Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
I. W. McKeague
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
E. S. Susser
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, NY, USA
S. R. Zubrick
Affiliation:
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
F. J. Stanley
Affiliation:
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
E. Mattes
Affiliation:
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
*
*Address for correspondence: R. D. Goodwin, PhD, MPH, 722 West 168th Street, Room 1505, New York, NY 10032, USA. (Email: rdg66@columbia.edu)

Abstract

Background

The goal of the current study was to investigate asthma and mental health among youth in the community, and to consider the role of asthma severity and persistence in this link.

Method

Data were drawn from the Raine Study, a population-based birth cohort study in Western Australia. Logistic regression models and generalized estimating equations were used to examine the relationship between asthma at age 5 years and the range of internalizing and externalizing mental health problems at ages 5–17 years. Analyses were stratified by asthma severity and persistence, and adjusted for a range of potential confounders.

Results

More severe and persistent asthma at age 5 was associated with significantly increased odds of affective, anxiety, somatic, oppositional defiant and conduct problems at ages 5–17. Mild asthma and remitted asthma were not associated with heightened vulnerability to mental disorders.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that youth with symptomatic asthma are more likely to suffer from a wide range of mental health problems, and that the likelihood of mental health problems appears to increase as a function of asthma severity. Youth with poorly controlled and/or more severe and persistent asthma may be considered a vulnerable group who might benefit from mental health screening in clinical, school and community settings.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, TM (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4–18 and 1991 Profile. University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry: Burlington.Google Scholar
Achenbach, TM (2001). CBCL DSM-Oriented Scales. ASEBA: Burlington, VT.Google Scholar
Alati, R, O'Callaghan, M, Najman, JM, Williams, GM, Bor, W, Lawlor, DA (2005). Asthma and internalizing behavior problems in adolescence: a longitudinal study. Psychosomatic Medicine 67, 462470.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
APA (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Revised (DSM-IV-R). American Psychiatric Association: Washington.Google Scholar
Byles, J, Byrne, C, Boyle, MH, Offord, DR (1988). Ontario Child Health Study: reliability and validity of the General Functioning subscale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device. Family Process 27, 97104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Delmas, MC, Guignon, N, Chan Chee, C, Fuhrman, C, Herbet, JB, Gonzalez, L (2011). Asthma and major depressive episode in adolescents in france. Journal of Asthma 48, 640646.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Epstein, NB, Baldwin, LM, Bishop, DS (1983). The McMaster Family Assessment Device. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy 9, 171180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Federico, MJ, Wamboldt, FS, Carter, R, Mansell, A, Wamboldt, MZ (2007). History of serious asthma exacerbations should be included in guidelines of asthma severity. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 119, 5056.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feldman, JM, Ortega, AN, McQuaid, EL, Canino, G (2006). Comorbidity between asthma attacks and internalizing disorders among Puerto Rican children at one-year follow-up. Psychosomatics 47, 333339.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, RD, Fergusson, DM, Horwood, LJ (2004). Asthma and depressive and anxiety disorders among young persons in the community. Psychological Medicine 34, 14651474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, RD, Jacobi, F, Thefeld, W (2003 a). Mental disorders and asthma in the community. Archives of General Psychiatry 60, 11251130.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, RD, Lewinsohn, PM, Seeley, JR (2005 a). Cigarette smoking and panic attacks among young adults in the community: the role of parental smoking and anxiety disorders. Biological Psychiatry 58, 686693.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, RD, Messineo, K, Bregante, A, Hoven, CW, Kairam, R (2005 b). Prevalence of probable mental disorders among pediatric asthma patients in an inner-city clinic. Journal of Asthma 42, 643647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodwin, RD, Pine, DS, Hoven, CW (2003 b). Asthma and panic attacks among youth in the community. Journal of Asthma 40, 139145.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Joseph-Bowen, J, de Klerk, NH, Firth, MJ, Kendall, GE, Holt, PG, Sly, PD (2004). Lung function, bronchial responsiveness, and asthma in a community cohort of 6-year-old children. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 169, 850854.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kardos, P, Wittchen, HU, Muhlig, S, Ritz, T, Buhl, R, Rabe, K, Klotsche, J, Riedel, O (2011). Controlled and uncontrolled allergic asthma in routine respiratory specialist care – a clinical-epidemiological study in Germany. Current Medical Research and Opinion 27, 18351847.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katon, W, Lozano, P, Russo, J, McCauley, E, Richardson, L, Bush, T (2007). The prevalence of DSM-IV anxiety and depressive disorders in youth with asthma compared with controls. Journal of Adolescent Health 41, 455463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martinez, FD, Stern, DA, Wright, AL, Taussig, LM, Halonen, M (1998). Differential immune responses to acute lower respiratory illness in early life and subsequent development of persistent wheezing and asthma. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 102, 915920.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCauley, E, Katon, W, Russo, J, Richardson, L, Lozano, P (2007). Impact of anxiety and depression on functional impairment in adolescents with asthma. General Hospital Psychiatry 29, 214222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McQuaid, EL, Kopel, SJ, Nassau, JH (2001). Behavioral adjustment in children with asthma: a meta-analysis. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics 22, 430439.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morgan, WJ, Stern, DA, Sherrill, DL, Guerra, S, Holberg, CJ, Guilbert, TW, Taussig, LM, Wright, AL, Martinez, FD (2005). Outcome of asthma and wheezing in the first 6 years of life: follow-up through adolescence. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 172, 12531258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morrison, KM, Goli, A, Van Wagoner, J, Brown, ES, Khan, DA (2002). Depressive symptoms in inner-city children with asthma. Prim Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 4, 174177.Google ScholarPubMed
National Asthma Council Australia (2006). Asthma Management Handbook 2006. National Asthma Council Australia: Melbourne.Google Scholar
Newnham, JP, Evans, SF, Michael, CA, Stanley, FJ, Landau, LI (1993). Effects of frequent ultrasound during pregnancy: A randomised controlled trial. Lancet 342, 887891.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
NHLBI (2007). Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: National Institutes of Health.Google Scholar
Ortega, AN, Huertas, SE, Canino, G, Ramirez, R, Rubio-Stipec, M (2002). Childhood asthma, chronic illness, and psychiatric disorders. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 190, 275281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ortega, AN, McQuaid, EL, Canino, G, Goodwin, RD, Fritz, GK (2004). Comorbidity of asthma and anxiety and depression in Puerto Rican children. Psychosomatics 45, 9399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ortega, AN, McQuaid, EL, Canino, G, Ramirez, R, Fritz, GK, Klein, RB (2003). Association of psychiatric disorders and different indicators of asthma in island Puerto Rican children. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 38, 220226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richardson, LP, Russo, JE, Lozano, P, McCauley, E, Katon, W (2008). The effect of comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders on health care utilization and costs among adolescents with asthma. General Hospital Psychiatry 30, 398406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scott, KM, Von Korff, M, Alonso, J, Angermeyer, MC, Benjet, C, Bruffaerts, R, de Girolamo, G, Haro, JM, Kessler, RC, Kovess, V, Ono, Y, Ormel, J, Posada-Villa, J (2008). Childhood adversity, early-onset depressive/anxiety disorders, and adult-onset asthma. Psychosomatic Medicine 70, 10351043.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stern, DA, Morgan, WJ, Halonen, M, Wright, AL, Martinez, FD (2008). Wheezing and bronchial hyper-responsiveness in early childhood as predictors of newly diagnosed asthma in early adulthood: a longitudinal birth-cohort study. Lancet 372, 10581064.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stewart, M, Masuda, JR, Letourneau, N, Anderson, S, McGhan, S (2011). ‘I want to meet other kids like me’: support needs of children with asthma and allergies. Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing 34, 6278.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vieira, AA, Santoro, IL, Dracoulakis, S, Caetano, LB, Fernandes, AL (2011). Anxiety and depression in asthma patients: impact on asthma control. Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia 37, 1318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wamboldt, MZ, Hewitt, JK, Schmitz, S, Wamboldt, FS, Rasanen, M, Koskenvuo, M, Romanov, K, Varjonen, J, Kaprio, J (2000). Familial association between allergic disorders and depression in adult Finnish twins. American Journal of Medical Genetics 96, 146153.3.0.CO;2-J>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warnick, EM, Bracken, MB, Kasl, S (2008). Screening efficiency of the Child Behavior Checklist and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: a systematic review. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 13, 140147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zubrick, S, Silburn, S, Gurrin, L, Teoh, H, Shepherd, C, Carlton, J, Lawrence, D (1997). Western Australian Child Health Survey: education, health and competence. Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research. Perth, Western Australia.Google Scholar