Study links asthma to higher rates of depression

The debilitating affect of asthma on physical and mental health is captured in a new study which found that three out of five adults with the condition experience depressive symptoms.

One in five were also left unable to work due to poor health, according to the research commissioned by the Asthma Society of Ireland, drug maker Novartis, and University College Cork.

Lead researcher Dr Mary Hughes said the inability to work had a significant impact on productivity. Previous studies have shown loss of productivity in the workforce and at school due to asthma-related illness is 12 days per adult, and 10 days per child per year.