Asthma, stress, and depression in women.

The occurrence of depression with asthma is very common, especially in women, and can influence behavioral factors, such as treatment compliance, self-assessment, and management of environmental triggers, that can collectively result in poor asthma management and control. This review describes the association and major clinical implications of stress, anxiety, and depression, and the associated hormonal changes frequently seen in women with poorly controlled asthma. Several validated instruments have recently been developed for screening patients for depression that can now be used and benefit patients with asthma by earlier detection of these confounding risk factors.

Identifying and managing rhinitis and its subtypes: allergic and nonallergic components--a consensus report and materials from the Respiratory and Allergic Disease Foundation.

Background: Rhinitis is one of the most common chronic disorders presenting to an internal medicine, pediatric, or family practice clinician. It can greatly impact a patient's quality of life and exerts a tremendous societal burden in terms of both its direct and indirect costs. In practice, in treatment guidelines, and in the literature, discussions of rhinitis as an inflammatory (allergic) disease often eclipse discussions of the nonallergic components, which often contribute to, or are responsible for, a patient's disease.