Do anxiety and depression affect different outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation?

Introduction: Efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation program (PRP) in reducing psychological distress has been previously demonstrated. Nevertheless, possible separate and different impact of anxiety and depression on pulmonary rehabilitation outcomes remains unclear. Aim: The aim was to investigate whether anxiety (ANX) and depression (DEP) have different affects on PRP outcomes - six-minute walking test (6MWT), fatigue (F) and dyspnea (DYS). Method: Study included 50 subjects with chronic obstructive respiratory disease. Before PRP they were divided to 4 groups according to DASS21 questionnaire score: normal anxiety level, normal depression level, moderate /severe anxiety level, moderate/severe depression level. All subjects were measured in 6-minute walking test, dyspnea and fatigue (Borg scale) prior to and after three week standard PRP. We observed the difference in measured variables (6MWT,DYS, F) at baseline and after PRP for all subjects and in regards to group division. Results: All measured outcomes have significantly improved after PRP. Elevated ANX at baseline was significantly related to higher dyspnea (p