Asthma patients and their partners: Gender differences in the relationshipbetween psychological distress and patient functioning

This study investigated gender differences in the association between partn ers' psychological functioning, and patients' perceptions of health functio ning and healthcare utilization. Participants were 50 couples in which one person had mild to moderate asthma. Patients and partners completed several questionnaires; Male patients reported significantly greater psychological distress and utilized fewer physician services than female patients. Furth ermore, female patients' perceptions of health functioning and their physic ian utilization were negatively affected by their partners' psychological d istress. The findings suggest a need for an interdisciplinary approach to a sthma management and the possible inclusion of partners in treatment, espec ially for female patients.