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JACI Highlights - July 2008
Negative affect, medication adherence, and asthma control in children
Bruce Bender, PhD, Lening Zhang, PhD
Patients with asthma can experience emotional distress. Depression has been reported among asthmatic children and adults alike and appears to be on the rise. A depressed mood may leave asthmatics feeling discouraged and less able to adequately manage their symptoms with medication. Consistent use of asthma medications is very important to keeping asthma under control and maintaining the patient's quality of life. In an upcoming issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Bender and Zhang report on their study designed to determine whether emotional distress (negative affect) and failure to use medications as prescribed (medication nonadherence) can forecast a decrease in asthmatics' symptom control and whether the relationship between mood and symptom control is due to children's adherence to a medication plan. They found that both mood and adherence predicted elements of asthma control, and that nonadherence did not explain the relationship between affect and control. . The authors present their argument that depressed emotional state of a child or parent may cause inaccurate reporting of asthma symptoms. Nonadherence remains a serious threat to good asthma management and should be closely watched in regular follow-up visits with the health care provider.
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