Mood link to asthma drug overdose

"Reliever" inhalers do not prevent future attacks

Bad moods could be leading some asthmatics to take their medication too often, researchers suggest.

GPs are being encouraged to look out for signs of depression in their asthmatic patients.

Patients who reported "negative feelings" in an Auckland University questionnaire were also the most likely to over-use their inhalers.

They tended to believe that many symptoms - even those not linked to asthma - were signs of an attack.

Many asthma patients are issued with two types of inhaler - one aimed at long-term prevention of attacks, and one designed to relieve attacks when they do happen.

Studies have shown that many patients tend to use their "reliever" inhalers too much, when they should be trying to manage the condition better by taking regular and correct doses of the "preventer" inhaler.

One study, using the number of "reliever" prescriptions in a year as a measure of asthma control, found that those using up the most relievers had a much higher chance of having a fatal attack.

Not dangerous

Although taking the reliever inhaler too often is not in itself dangerous, it can produce unpleasant side-effects, such a racing pulse and shaking hands.

The New Zealand research, presented at a British Psychological Society conference, looked to see if there was any correlation between the mood of the patients and the amount they were using their inhalers.

Questionnaires were filled in by 42 asthmatics over a seven day period, detailing not only their mood, but also the symptoms they had felt during that period which they felt could be blamed on asthma.

The results suggested that people with negative moods were not just saving their inhalers for times when they feel wheezy - but taking them symptoms such as headaches which they suspected were asthma related.

They even took the inhalers when they felt the racing heartbeat and shaky hands brought on by taking too much, creating something of a vicious cycle.

Jodie Main, a psychologist who helped carry out the research, told BBC News Online: "This suggests that there are patients who are not managing their condition properly.

"It certainly may be that people with a negative mood are more likely to associate these non-specific symptoms with asthma."