The Centre on Friday said it is closely monitoring the outbreak of H9N2 (Avian Influenza virus) cases and clusters of respiratory illness in children and is prepared to meet for any kind of exigency. According to the Union Health Ministry, India is not at high risk from the respiratory diseases cluster or the avian influenza case that was reported in China. Some media reports have indicated the clustering of cases of respiratory diseases in children, for which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also issued a statement.
Ministry of Health released a statement saying, “The common causes of pediatric respiratory illnesses have been linked, and no novel pathogen or unexpected clinical manifestations have been found.” In light of a human case of H9N2 that was reported to the WHO in October, a meeting was recently convened under the Directorate General of Health Services to discuss the readiness to address human cases of avian influenza in the nation.
The ministry stated that the WHO’s overall risk assessment points to a low likelihood of H9N2 spreading from person to person and a low case fatality rate among H9N2 cases that have been reported to the organization thus far. It was acknowledged that better coordination and increased surveillance were required among the human, animal husbandry, and wildlife sectors. India is equipped to handle any emergency pertaining to public health,” it stated.
Symptoms
One is more likely to experience poor mental well-being or a mental health condition if suffering from a respiratory condition. This might be because:
- Find it more difficult to engage in the same activities you did prior to getting sick and worry that you won’t be able to breathe
- If you find yourself in need of ongoing medical care and additional assistance from others, you may feel frustrated.
- If your lung condition is causing you to require more support from others and regular medical attention, you may feel frustrated or anxious about the future.
- This could then affect your self-esteem, how you interact with family and friends, and how you see your role at work.
- Your capacity to manage your lung condition may also be impacted by a mental health issue. This could imply:
- Being afraid of running out of breath, so you refrain from exercising
- Feeling melancholy and unable to take your medicine, or
- Avoiding social interactions and experiencing loneliness.
This starts a vicious cycle that could make you feel worse if your symptoms are not properly treated.
Similarity in symptoms of anxiety and respiratory disease: As a result, dyspnea may indicate an underlying anxiety disorder and panic attacks may indicate underlying cardiopulmonary disease.
Panic attacks and pulmonary diseases share symptoms.
A neurobiological sensitivity to CO2, lactate, or other signals of suffocation, the anxiogenic effects of hyperventilation, or the catastrophic misinterpretation of respiratory symptoms are some of the mechanisms by which the pathophysiology of panic may be linked to respiratory physiology.
Anxiety Relation with Respiratory Disease
Re-hospitalizations and a decrease in functional ability are linked to the prevalence of anxiety-related disorders in people with respiratory disease . Several common explanations for this strong correlation involve variables associated with dyspnea and smoking.
- High levels of anxiety have been found to be a risk factor for starting to smoke, and smoking is widely recognized as the most significant environmental risk factor for the development of respiratory disease
- Therefore, individuals who develop the respiratory disease as a result of smoking are likely to have had higher levels of anxiety before developing the disease than the general population.
- Furthermore, since withdrawal from nicotine is linked to increased symptoms of anxiety, these individuals may also be more susceptible to addiction.
Treatment
By reducing anxiety and dyspnea, effective treatment of panic in these patients can enhance their functional status and quality of life.
- For patients with concurrent respiratory disorders, cognitive-behavioral therapies, as well as other nonpharmacologic treatments for panic, may be helpful.
- Patients with pulmonary disease should use sedatives like benzodiazepines cautiously to prevent respiratory depression.
- With comparatively little chance of serious side effects, serotonergic antidepressants (SSRIs) and anxiolytics (buspirone) may be useful treatments for panic or generalized anxiety in pulmonary patients.
- According to mental health guidelines, CBT is the best treatment for a variety of anxiety and mood disorders and can be used in addition to other therapies.
- For individuals with mild-to-moderate anxiety and/or depression, low-intensity cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based psychosocial interventions are advised.
- For individuals with moderate-to-severe depression, high-intensity psychological interventions that combine CBT with medication are advised.
- Numerous methods, including breathing exercises, sequential muscle relaxation, biofeedback, guided imagery, distraction therapy, hypnosis, meditation/mindfulness, and physical posture therapy, are included in relaxation therapy.
Several of these methods are frequently utilized in conjunction with other therapies (like CBT).The goal of this therapy is to effectively manage the physiological changes that accompany anxiety in order to promote psychological change.
Recommendations
- The Hospital Anxiety Depression and the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventory scales have been recommended as the preferable choice of screening tools for anxiety and depression in patients with respiratory diseases.
- Clinicians should be aware of the somatic overlap between anxiety and/or depression and respiratory diseases.
- Precise evaluation will guarantee that therapeutic approaches are focused on the particular mental health issue while considering personal elements like genetic susceptibility, nicotine dependency, interpersonal relationships, additional co-occurring conditions, etc.
- A Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) report states that there is no evidence that anxiety and depression should be treated differently in the presence of respiratory diseases, so at this point of time guidelines are based on treatment of depression and anxiety for the general population
