Similar psychological characteristics in mild and severe asthma

Objective: Psychological factors have been implicated as potentially contri buting to asthma severity. In the present study, we investigated whether pa tients with mild and severe asthma differ with regard to several psychologi cal characteristics. Methods: Ninety outpatients with severe asthma (74% fe male, mean [S.D.] age: 46.5 [13.7] years) and 37 outpatients with mild asth ma (73% female, age: 39.4 [13.9] years) were compared with respect to gener al psychological health, anxiety sensitivity, hyperventilation symptoms, pe rsonality, and locus-of-control orientation, all measured by well-validated self-report questionnaires. Analysis of (co)variance (ANCOVA) was used to assess between-groups differences. Results: No significant differences in p sychological characteristics were found between patients with mild and seve re asthma. Only on the subscale for external locus-of-control orientation, severe asthmatic patients differed from those with mild disease (P=.005) in showing less trust in physicians and medication with regard to influencing their asthma. Conclusion: The results suggest that mild and severe asthmat ic patients cannot be differentiated on the basis of psychopathology or per sonality Whether or not the observed lack of confidence in the influence of physicians or medication on asthma course is cause or consequence of disea se severity, remains to be established. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.