ABSTRACT
The role of patient-related factors in asthma and the complex relationship between psychosocial characteristics and asthma have long been recognized.1 Despite this, improved understanding of the pathophysiology and pharmacology of asthma in the middle of the past century led to increasing neglect of psychosocial factors, as asthma became more amenable to treatment within a traditional biomedical model. In recent years, however, recognition of the significance of adherence to treatment, the importance of patients taking an active role in self-management and the need for a biopsychosocial perspective in understanding chronic illness has meant that interest in the role of psychosocial factors in asthma, and severe asthma in particular, has re-emerged.
