Assessment of Lung Functions in 18 - 60 Years Old Depression and Anxiety Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Center of North India: A Hospital Based Cross Sectional Study.

Lung health is increasingly recognized as an essential factor in mental health. Anxiety can affect pulmonary function by triggering the "fight or flight" response, leading to rapid breathing, hyperventilation, and potentially worsening existing lung conditions or causing panic attacks. Depression has been found to affect the rate of respiration and the performance of respiratory muscles. It has been found that there was a clear longitudinal association between chronic depression and faster pulmonary function decline among women. Among Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the frequency of depression varies greatly from 10% to 57%, while the prevalence of anxiety varies widely, between 7% and 50%. COPD patients with persistent hypercarbia are at an increased risk of such dyspneic spells and become more susceptible to anxiety attacks. This was a hospital based cross sectional study done between January 2025 to February 2025.There were 40 patients of depression and 58 patient of anxiety of age between 18-60 years of either sex were recruited. The diagnosis of depression and anxiety were made by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HDRS Score) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) respectively. All the patients were subjected to pulmonary function test (Spirometry) by Spiromax for assessment of lung function. The recorded variables included forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1st second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio.Mean age of study participants was (SD) 40.89 ±13 years. There were 58 (59.18%) male and 40 (40.81%) were females. Mean FEV1 among depression was 2.52±0.65 litre and among anxiety group was 3.11±0.83 litre. Among patients with depression, 15% had an obstructive lung pattern, 40% had a restrictive pattern, and 45% had normal lung function. In the anxiety group, 17.24% had an obstructive pattern, 62.06% had a restrictive pattern, and 20.68% had normal lung function. Coexistent of psychiatry illness in chronic respiratory disease make it difficult its management or vice versa. Therefore assessment of lung function should be done as screening among depression and anxiety patients for early diagnosis and timely intervention for better management.