Mood disorders in elderly patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents the most common cause of chronic respiratory failure and it is associated with several comorbidities such as depression. Depression is about four times more frequent in elderly patients with COPD compared to peers who are not affected and its prevalence increases with the degree of disease severity. The aim of our study was to assess mood and perception of the quality of life in elderly patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD. For this purpose 35 elderly patients (20 M and 15 F; average age 75.2 ± 6.4 years) hospitalized for reactivation of COPD were examined; they were subjected to spirometry test for the calculation of FEV1 and to CAT and HAM-D. Findings show that a greater severity of depressive symptoms is related to a greater severity of COPD exacerbations, disability associated with it and perceived by the patient, as well as a higher number of recovery days and annual acute exacerbations, in particular in female gender.