Two Interventions for PatientsWith Major Depression and Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Impact on Quality of Life.

Objective: Clinically significant depression occurs in approximately 40% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, and both illnesses severely impair quality of life. This study tests the hypothesis that problem-solving integrated with a treatment adherence intervention, the Problem Solving-Adherence (PSA), is superior to a personalized treatment adherence intervention, the Personalized Intervention for Depressed Patients with COPD (PID-C), alone in improving quality of life in depressed COPD patients.

Methods: After screening 633 admissions for acute rehabilitation, we studied quality of life in 87 participants with major depression (by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) and severe COPD randomly assigned to 14 sessions of PID-C or PSA over 26 weeks.