When asthma and symptoms of depression coexist in kids, asthma may become worse.
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To investigate the relationship between asthma and depression, researchers in Japan studied the breathing patterns of 90 asthmatic boys and girls before and after they watched scenes from the movie ET: The Extraterrestrial. Half of the kids had symptoms of depression, in addition to asthma, while the other half did not. They were aged between 7 and 17 years.
It was found that the children with both asthma and symptoms of depression were more likely to show greater airway resistance after watching troubling scenes from the movie. They consistently showed breathing patterns indicative of worsening asthma after watching distressing scenes and distressed breathing was most pronounced during scenes of family distress, loss, and death.
Airway resistance, an indicator of worsening asthma, is akin to blowing through a straw with a narrow opening, as opposed to a larger opening.
The researchers cautioned parents of children with asthma to be aware of the possibility that stressful or emotionally troubling events may lead to worsening asthma episodes.
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