Older patients with COPD are seeing more anxiety, and while properly selecting anxiety tools for screening and diagnosis can help, more research is still needed.
That’s according to a systemic review and meta-analysis titled, “The Prevalence of Anxiety Among Older Patients With COPD.”
Published in Geriatric Nursing, the analysis looked at patients aged 60 years and above using data from studies published in April and May of 2024. The prevalence of anxiety in these patients was assessed using the random-effect model.
A total of 11 studies including 136,609 patients were reviewed including:
- Five cohort studies
- Four cross-sectional studies
- One retrospective study
- One study with an unspecified design
The pooled prevalence of anxiety disorders in older COPD patients was 36%. These anxiety disorders were negatively associated with anxiety assessment tools.
“One-third of older COPD patients experience anxiety disorders,” the researchers wrote. “Using appropriate anxiety assessment tools to support effective screening and diagnosis is crucial.”
The researchers said the findings highlight the importance of using standardized, validated tools to support accurate screening and diagnosis of anxiety disorders in this population.
The researchers also called for high-quality studies to explore anxiety disorders in older COPD patients, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
