Prevalence of Depression in Children With Asthma

Mitra Safa; Payam Mehrian; Maryam Hassan Zad

Pediatric Respiratory Diseases Research Centre, NRITLD, Masih Daneshvari Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Background: Asthma has high prevalence in children (7-10%). Many psychiatric factors including personality traits, psychiatric diseases, family environment and demographic characteristics such as age and gender can influence treatment success. Children with moderate to severe asthma have more psychiatric, social and physical problems.

Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the psychiatric features and correlation of demographic features in children with asthma for their better treatment.

Materials and Methods: The current study was observational and cross sectional with completion of General Health Questionnaire - 28 (GHQ-28) and Demographic Information Questionnaire. The population constituted 177 subjects. The samples were selected by accessible method. Data were analyzed by SPSS-16 (Statistical Package for Social Science), and correlation between the variables was investigated through T and Chi-Square tests.

Results: The mean age of participants was 10 ± 4 years (66% girls and 34% boys). The incidence of depression was found to be 45%, which occurred in 64.5% of the boys and 35.5% of the girls. Among the children`s parents with psychiatric disturbance 2.6% smoked cigarettes, and 53.9% and 46.1% of the children with depression were born naturally by cesarean, respectively. Significant correlation existed between questionnaire score, social interaction, weight, and height of children (P > 0.055). Significant correlation was found between social interaction and gender (P = 0.023).

Conclusions: Despite high incidence of depression among hospitalized children with asthma, and correlation of some demographic variables, it is recommended that they are evaluated for psychiatric status and treatment along with treating their asthma. Serious psychological problems as well as recommended treatment for patients with asthma should be considered.
Keywords: Asthma; Child; Depression

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J Compr Ped. 2014 May; 4(2)