Pneumologie 2017; 71(S 01): S1-S125
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1598582
Posterbegehung – Sektion Rehabilitation, Prävention und Tabakkontrolle
Tabakkontrolle, Psychologie und Rehaerfolg – Heike Buhr-Schinner/Schönberg, Ralf Schipmann/Bad Lippspringe
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Disease-specific fears impact outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD

A von Leupoldt
1   Health Psychology, University of Leuven
,
T Reijnders
1   Health Psychology, University of Leuven
,
S Petersen
2   Research Unit Inside, University of Luxembourg
,
N Stenzel
3   Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Berlin Psychological University
,
M Schuler
4   Abteilung für Medizinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, Medizinische Soziologie und Rehabilitationswissenschaften, Universität Würzburg
,
M Wittmann
5   Klinik Bad Reichenhall der Drv Bayern Süd
,
D Jelusic
5   Klinik Bad Reichenhall der Drv Bayern Süd
,
K Schultz
5   Klinik Bad Reichenhall der Drv Bayern Süd
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
23 February 2017 (online)

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    Background:

    Recent studies demonstrated that anxiety is highly prevalent in patients with COPD and has negative effects on their pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) outcomes. More recently, the relevance of disease-specific fears in COPD has been suggested. However, disease-specific fear is a multifaceted concept and little is still known about how its components relate to outcomes of PR. Therefore, the present study tested how different disease-specific fears relate to different outcomes of PR in patients with COPD.

    Methods:

    Before and after a 3-week inpatient PR program, patients with COPD underwent a 6-min walking test to measure functional exercise capacity. Disease-specific fears were assessed with the COPD-Anxiety-Questionnaire and Fear Avoidance Questionnaire COPD. In addition, health-related quality of life (QoL), general anxiety, depression, activity-related dyspnea, and dyspnea-related disability were assessed using validated questionnaires.

    Results:

    Multiple regression analyses showed that at the start of PR, higher levels of fear of physical activity, fear of dyspnea, fear of disease progression, fear-avoidance behavior, and fear-avoidance beliefs were associated with worse functional exercise capacity, physical QoL, activity-related dyspnea, and dyspnea-related disability, even after controlling for potential confounding effects of age, sex, lung function, smoking status, and general anxiety. Moreover, greater disease-specific fears at the start of PR predicted more unfavorable levels in these outcomes at the end of PR.

    Discussion:

    The results show that disease-specific fears negatively impact PR outcomes in COPD patients beyond the effects of general anxiety. Different disease-specific fears, therefore, should be diagnosed and treated in order to improve effects of PR in patients with COPD.


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    No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).