ABSTRACT
Approximately half of the US population will suffer from one or more psychiatric disorders at some point in their life-time. Of these disorders, mood and anxiety disorders are the most common, with lifetime prevalence rates of 21% and 29%, respectively. Mood disorders, also called affective disorders, represent a category of mental health problems in which the primary underlying problem is an individual’s persistent emotional state or mood. Anxiety is a future-oriented, negative mood state that results in feelings of helplessness due to a perceived inability to control or predict events. In addition to being common in the general population, anxiety and mood disorders are even more common among individuals with asthma. Findings from studies among adults generally mirror what is found in children and adolescents. Due to the high rates of co-occurrence between asthma and both anxiety and depression, researchers have begun to examine effects of these comorbid mental health conditions on asthma severity, including asthma symptoms and pulmonary function.
