title: Psychological characteristics of patients with asthma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Psychological distress of patients with asthma may be reduced when they learned to live with their illness. Asthma can change the psychological and personality characteristics. We aim to investigate the psychological and personality characteristics of patients with asthma using MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory).
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-three adult patients with asthma (23 female and 10 male) and 20 healthy controls (14 females and 6 males) were enrolled in this study. Psychometric evaluation was made with the Turkish version of the MMPI. The patients were separated into two groups according to the duration of symptoms (recent-onset asthma < 10 years, long-standing asthma ≥10 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with asthma compared with control group had significantly higher the rate of clinical elevation on depression, hysteria, psychasthenia and social introversion. Patients with recent-onset asthma compared with long-standing asthma have significantly higher the rate of clinical elevation on depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviate, psychasthenia and social introversion. MMPI mean t score in patients with recent-onset asthma was higher than patients with long-standing asthma. MMPI mean t score in patients with asthma was negatively associated with the symptom duration in multivariate model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with asthma have relatively more inactivity, anergia, guilt, pessimism, nonspecific physical complaints, irrational fears and introvert. Patients with long-standing asthma have less psychological distress, suggesting that learned to cope with his illness.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Kirikkale University, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bulcun
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Kirikkale University, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yakup
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Turkel
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Kirikkale University, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Oguztürk
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Kirikkale University, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ersel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dag
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Kirikkale University, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Visal Buturak
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Kirikkale University, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Aydanur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ekici
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Kirikkale University, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ekici
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014421:Turkey
keywords: MMPI; asthma; personality traits; psychiatric disorders; psychometric evaluation; symptom duration