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The Interaction Between Asthma and Anxiety: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Young People’s Experiences

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Abstract

Asthma and anxiety are highly co-morbid, and their interaction leads to exacerbations for both conditions. This study explored the interplay between these two conditions from the perspective of children and adolescents. The objective was to identify potential mechanisms of interaction between asthma and anxiety, and to derive improvements for prevention and treatment. Eleven semi-structured interviews of young people (aged 11–15), who met criteria for both asthma and anxiety, were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Well-established qualitative research recommendations were followed to promote credibility and rigour in the findings. Eight themes emerged that were organised in three domains: (i) asthma affecting anxiety by inhibiting coping activities or developmental tasks and by triggering unhelpful thinking and behaviour; (ii) anxiety affecting asthma by impairing self-care and triggering hyperventilation; (iii) interactions between asthma and anxiety, including self-perpetuating feedback cycles and symptom confusion. The proposed mechanisms could help tailor cognitive-behavioural interventions to reduce anxiety and asthma complications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NHS Education Scotland. The funder had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for involvement in the study beyond broadly encouraging the publication of research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paediatric Psychology Service, Wishaw General Hospital, NHS Lanarkshire, Wishaw, ML2 0DP, Scotland, UK

    Eleni Pateraki & Yvonne Vance

  2. Clinical and Health Psychology Department, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

    Paul Graham Morris

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  1. Eleni Pateraki
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  2. Yvonne Vance
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Correspondence to Eleni Pateraki.

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Conflict of interest

Eleni Pateraki, Yvonne Vance and Paul Graham Morris declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures followed were in accordance with ethical standards of the responsible committees on human experimentation (both institutional and national), and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all participants and their parents for being included in the study.

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Pateraki, E., Vance, Y. & Morris, P.G. The Interaction Between Asthma and Anxiety: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Young People’s Experiences. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 25, 20–31 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-017-9528-5

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