ABSTRACT
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 450 million people around the world have a mental disorder (WHO 2010a). People diagnosed with chronic mental disorders frequently report multiple other chronic physical conditions and the link between respiratory and mental health (MH) has been well-documented (Muehrer 2002). Numerous clinical and community-based studies have reported rates of psychological distress among asthma patients that are twice those of the general population (Goodwin 2003). This relationship is important because comorbid mental disorders can increase the severity of asthma symptoms, is associated with more risk behaviors, and present a serious barrier to asthma care (Strine et al. 2008). The purpose of this chapter is to: (a) identify populationbased studies of asthma and serious psychological distress (SPD), (b) describe the prevalence of psychological distress among those with asthma, and (c) discuss potential implications for health and public health practice. Although evidence presented in this chapter is crosssectional, limiting determination of causality or the directionality of associations, this summary of patterns of prevalence and factors associated with co-occurring SPD and asthma may serve as a useful resource for future research and applied public health practice.
