Difficult asthma, stress and panic disorder

Aim: The goal of the research was to verify the comorbidity of difficult asthma and psychiatric disorders, their severity, the appearance of catastrophic interpretation of body sensations, and analysis of family functioning of asthmatic patients. Method: The author examined 31 patients suffering from asthma. She used: Mini International Neuropsychiatrie Interview, Polish version 5. 0. 0., Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (PAS), The Body Sensations Interpretation Questionnaire, Aaron Beck’s Depression Inventory, Family Functioning Questionnaire, Life Inventory. Results: The research revealed that 74% of them suffered from panic disorder and 29% from depression. Family functioning of patients with difficult asthma was rather positive. In 71% of the group the specific trauma of suffering and/or death was discovered. Perhaps this trauma is aethiologically connected with panic disorder, and also has an impact on the course of asthma.