Screening for Anxiety and Depression among Saudi Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Cross-sectional Study

Anxiety and depression are two psychological illnesses that are linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In Saudi Arabia, no research has been done on the prevalence of psychological disorders among patients with COPD and their association with COPD severity. This study aims to screen for anxiety and depression among Saudi patients with COPD and to explore the impact of COPD severity on the patients’ psychological status. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 70 stable patients with COPD from outpatient respiratory clinics. Anxiety and depression were evaluated using the Anxiety Inventory for Respiratory Disease (AIR) scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The AIR identified that 46% of patients with COPD had anxiety and the PHQ-9 identified that 60% had depression. Patients with severe COPD stages were at greater risk of anxiety [AIR odds ratio (OR) = 2.54, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.31-2.86] and depression (PHQ-9 OR = 3.08, 95% CI: 2.76-3.45). Patients with severe COPD stages are at increased risk of both anxiety and depression compared to patients with less severe COPD stages.