Location
Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de MontréalCategory
PneumologyRecruitment status
Recruitment complete, follow-up currently in progressSummary
Asthma is one of the four most common chronic diseases in adults, affecting around 8.5% of Canadians. Although effective treatments are available, more than half of asthmatics in Canada (53%) continue to have poor asthma control (i.e., asthma symptoms that significantly interfere with daily activities and are associated with a lower quality of life). Moreover, it seems that psychological stress can influence the frequency and severity of asthma symptoms. However, the physiological mechanisms that may explain the relationship between psychological stress and poor asthma control are not yet well known. Thus, this study aims to better understand the impact of psychological stress on four major biological systems involved in asthma, which are the respiratory, immune, autonomic nervous and cardiovascular systems.
It is expected that the results of the present study will (1) determine how psychological stress affects biological systems that are involved in asthma; (2) educate health professionals, such as doctors, psychologists and nurses on the importance of considering the psychological stress as a factor that can influence asthma control; (3) help to better target asthmatics that may be at greater risk of having poor asthma control; and (4) highlight the need for more adapted treatments in asthmatics having significant psychological stress.
Guillaume Lacoste, MBMC coordinator
514-338-2222 ext. 3989
guillaume.lacoste@mbmc-cmcm.ca
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR Scholarship support)
Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQ-S Scholarship support)
- Plourde A, Lavoie KL, Lessard A, Bacon SL. (2017). Effects of acute psychological stress induced in laboratory on physiological responses in asthma populations: A systematic review. Respiratory Medicine, 127: 211-32.