To analyze the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) combined with anxiety/depression, and to explore the relationship between the anxiety/depression grade and COPD symptom score.

A total of 154 COPD patients were enrolled in this study. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and COPD assessment test (CAT), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), St. George′s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and dyspnea (mMRC) were used for the patients. According to the pulmonary function test, the patients were grouped according to HADS (>11) indicating anxiety/depression, and the literature factors were analyzed. Meanwhile, the anxiety/depression was graded according to the scores of HAMD and HAMA, and the relationship between anxiety and depression grading and the condition of COPD patients was observed.

Among the 154 COPD patients, 41 were combined with anxiety/depression, with the prevalence rate of 26.63%. Among 41 patients, 6 had simple anxiety/depression, 19 had mild anxiety/depression, and 16 had moderate or severe anxiety/depression. There was no significant difference in sex, age, course of disease, smoking history or educational level between the patients with COPD combined with anxiety/depression and the patients with simple COPD (P>0.05). However, there were significant differences in the proportions of rural patients, low-income population, the patients with higher annual cost of disease, and the patients with pulmonary functions grading 3 and 4 between the patients with COPD combined with anxiety/depression and the patients with simple COPD (P<0.05). In the study of the relationship between HAD score and COPD symptom score, the results showed that HAD score was positively correlated with HAMD score, HAMA score, SGRQ total score and mMRC score, and negatively correlated with the FEV and FEV₁/FVC of the pulmonary function. The results of anxiety/depression grading analysis showed that the HAMD score, HAMA score, SGRQ total score, mMRC score, FEV ratio and FEV₁/FVC of the COPD patients with moderate and severe anxiety/depression were worse than those of the COPD patients with mild anxiety/depression (P<0.05).

The prevalence is high in the patients with COPD combined with anxiety/depression and the degree of anxiety/depression is positively correlated with the severity of COPD, suggesting that doctors should pay more attention to the mental illness of the patients in the treatment of COPD patients, in order to further improve the curative effects.