Depression symptoms and quality of life among individuals with Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease

Depression symptoms and quality of life among individuals with Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease

This study, directed by Dr. Elina Jerschow’s group in New York, was the first to examine levels of depression and disease- and asthma-related quality of life among patients with AERD. They found that although ratings of asthma severity were more severe for AERD than for the control group of asthma-only patients, AERD patients reported lower levels of depression symptoms (p = .049), better overall asthma-related quality of life (p < .001), and perceived their asthma to be less severe (p = .01) compared to asthma-only patients. This suggests that patients with AERD may be particularly resilient given their low levels of depression symptoms and positive views of asthma-related impairment despite higher clinician-rated asthma severity. Dr. Jerschow speculated that the more common adult-onset nature of AERD might be a protective factor on mental health.