Review on the relationship of asthma and mental disorders

Abstract

Asthma is a complex, chronic condition affecting airway function, often accompanied by wheezing and breathlessness. Recent research has begun to explore the associations between asthma and mental disorders, particularly anxiety and depression. This review focuses on the emerging evidence suggesting a bidirectional relationship, where asthma may exacerbate mental health conditions and vice versa. Several hypotheses may explain these connections, including overlapping inflammatory pathways, altered interoceptive perception, and shared psychosocial stressors. We also explore how asthma phenotypes, different asthma treatment modalities, and breathing patterns may mediate the relationship between asthma and mental disorders such as anxiety and depressive disorders. Additionally, this review presents insights from the field of Psychoneuroimmunology and discusses the potential benefits of non-pharmacological approaches such as mindfulness, yoga, and breathing exercises. Overall, this narrative review emphasizes the need for an interdisciplinary approach to asthma management, stressing the importance of the biopsychosocial model in understanding shared pathogenic mechanisms across disorders involving psychoneuroimmunological pathways. Through this perspective, one can better understand the connections between respiratory and psychological health. This review also attempts to reveal some of the disagreements in the field, showing that more research is required to understand the risk profile that asthmatics carry when it comes to mental disorders.