The relationship between psychosomatic factors and asthma

  It is well known that bronchial asthma is a chronic airway inflammation involving a variety of cells, especially mast cells, eosinophils and T lymphocytes. Psychosomatic factors have been found to play an important role in the onset, development and regression of asthma. Psychological factors can trigger and exacerbate asthma, and sometimes relieve it. Intense mental stimulation and anxiety, fear, anger, and agitation can trigger and exacerbate asthma. However, some patients find that an asthma attack can be avoided if they are sufficiently relaxed, rest quietly, and emotionally stable when an asthma aura occurs. Some asthma patients usually carry with them a quantitative nebulizer of β2 agonist, such as AsthmaCon, and feel secure, but if they suddenly find that they have forgotten their medication, they can have a sudden asthma attack. Among the psychosomatic factors that trigger asthma attacks, anxiety is the most obvious, followed by anger, depression, fear, and excitement.  The proportion of asthma patients who are emotionally unstable is significantly higher than that of healthy people, who have poor adaptability to the external environment, have strong and unstable emotional reactions, and are prone to anxiety and depression. Therefore, it is believed that personality characteristics of asthma patients are the qualitative basis for the development of asthma. The life events that have the greatest impact on patients are interpersonal tensions, including intra-family relationships. On the other hand, the above-mentioned various psychological disorders that induce asthma can affect not only the condition, course and prognosis and regression of asthma patients, but also the quality of life of patients as well as their families and society. The results of medical psychological studies reveal that asthmatic patients have certain special personality traits, such as self-centeredness, dependence, desire for sympathy, excessive demands for care and attention, naivete, emotional instability, anxiety, irritability, fear, over-sensitivity, excessive desire, introversion, depression, low self-esteem, suggestibility, etc. These particular personalities may themselves be susceptibility factors for asthma. Asthma can also induce a number of psychological disorders such as fear, anxiety, depression, hostility, paranoia, etc. In addition, the above psychological abnormalities can be an important factor in triggering asthma attacks, forming a vicious circle between the two. Current research suggests that psychosomatic factors may trigger asthma through the following mechanisms: strong emotional changes acting on the cerebral cortex, cortical excitation acting on the hypothalamus, through the vagus nerve, promoting acetylcholine release, causing bronchial smooth muscle contraction, mucosal edema; adverse mental stimuli through the central nervous system, especially the hypothalamus interfere with the normal immune function of the body and affect the body’s sensitivity to various external The sensitivity of the body’s response to various external adverse stimuli is affected.  As the saying goes, “heart disease requires heart medicine”. Medical psychology is undoubtedly important to correct the psychological disorders of asthma patients. For asthma patients, they should accept the new concept of asthma prevention and treatment, standardize the treatment with the asthma prevention and treatment protocol recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), receive education on asthma management, form a partnership with an asthma specialist, and take the initiative to receive psychological guidance to reduce mood swings and prevent asthma attacks.