Socio-psychological problems in adolescents with uncontrolled bronchial asthma

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to study the presence and characteristics of socio-psychological problems in adolescents with uncontrolled bronchial asthma (BA). Material and methods. We examined 212 adolescents with BA – patients of the pulmonary allergy center: 90 people with uncontrolled BA (the main group), 22 – with partially controlled asthma and 100 – with controlled asthma (the comparison groups); 136 (64.2 %) boys and 76 (35.8 %) girls; age 14 [13; 15] years (median [lower quartile; upper quartile]). The characteristics of prosocial behavior, the presence and severity of emotional disorders were studied. The values of the total score of the scales of the psychometric questionnaire used (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ test) were determined. The indicators were assessed in the main and comparison groups, including taking into account age and gender. Results. In the vast majority of those examined, the characteristics of both scales of the questionnaire, regardless of the controllability of asthma, gender and age of adolescents, did not deviate from the norm. The second and third ranking places were occupied by borderline and deviating indicators, respectively. The average values of the total scores of the questionnaire scales were higher in adolescents with uncontrolled BA, both boys and girls. Conclusions. It is necessary to conduct further research aimed at diagnosing socio-psychological problems associated with uncontrolled BA for their timely correction in order to achieve control over the course of asthma, increase the effectiveness of treatment and improve the prognosis in adolescents with this pathology.

Keywords

• adolescents
• bronchial asthma
• controlled asthma
• partially controlled asthma
• uncontrolled asthma
• prosocial behavior
• emotional symptoms