Do general pracitioners recognise psychosocial comorbidity in asthma, and if so, do they respond to it?
Several recent community surveys have found that mental health problems (and depression in particular) are on average twice as common in patients with asthma than in other patients. Mental health and psychosocial problems are of concern because they are risk factors for increased inappropriate health service usage, and are associated with reduced quality of life and high rates of morbidity and mortality. A growing body of national and international literature has reported that mental health problems, and again depression in particular, are also associated with poor self-management, not just poor health outcomes. Despite evidence of high comorbidity, few studies have reported whether patients with mental health issues and psychosocial problems are identified, and the comorbidity addressed, in general practice. However, the available literature suggests that for many patients, these problems are not identified, and hence, no treatment is offered. So far, only one international study (and
