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COPD and Depressive Symptoms: Findings from the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) co-exists with depression, but important questions remain about the determinants of this association.

Purpose

We examined the association of depressive symptoms with three aspects of COPD: self-reports of physician-diagnosed COPD, chronic respiratory symptoms, and airway obstruction.

Methods

We used data from the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study (n = 7,995). Airway obstruction was assessed by spirometry. A score ≥4 on the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale was used as a cutoff for depressive symptoms.

Results

Self-reported COPD was positively associated with depressive symptoms but airway obstruction was not. Compared to those free of both respiratory symptoms and airway obstruction those reporting respiratory symptoms were more likely to have depressive symptoms regardless of whether they had obstruction or not.

Conclusions

In this Chinese population, a self-reported physician diagnosis of COPD and symptom perception, but not airway obstruction, appeared as main determinants of depressive symptoms.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Guangzhou Health and Happiness Association for the Respectable Elders for recruiting the participants. The Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study investigators include: the Guangzhou Number 12 People’s Hospital: WS Zhang, M Cao, T Zhu, B Liu, CQ Jiang (Co-PI); The University of Hong Kong: CM Schooling, SM McGhee, RF Fielding, GM Leung, TH Lam (Co-PI); The University of Birmingham: GN Thomas, P Adab, KK Cheng (Co-PI). The Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study was funded by The University of Hong Kong Foundation for Educational Development and Research, Hong Kong; the Guangzhou Public Health Bureau and the Guangzhou Science and Technology Bureau, Guangzhou, China and The University of Birmingham, UK.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany

    Adrian Loerbroks Ph.D. & Jos A. Bosch Ph.D.

  2. Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context”, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany

    Adrian Loerbroks Ph.D.

  3. Guangzhou No.12 People’s Hospital, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Chao Qiang Jiang M.D. & Wei Sen Zhang M.D.

  4. Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Health and Population Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    G. Neil Thomas Ph.D., Peymané Adab M.D. & Kar Keung Cheng Ph.D.

  5. Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Kin-bong Hubert Lam Ph.D.

  6. School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Jos A. Bosch Ph.D.

  7. School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China

    Tai Hing Lam M.D.

Authors
  1. Adrian Loerbroks Ph.D.
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  2. Chao Qiang Jiang M.D.
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  3. G. Neil Thomas Ph.D.
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  5. Wei Sen Zhang M.D.
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  7. Jos A. Bosch Ph.D.
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  8. Kar Keung Cheng Ph.D.
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  9. Tai Hing Lam M.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peymané Adab M.D..

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Loerbroks, A., Jiang, C.Q., Thomas, G.N. et al. COPD and Depressive Symptoms: Findings from the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study. ann. behav. med. 44, 408–415 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-012-9389-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-012-9389-y

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