Coping techniques ‘offer physical and mental benefits for COPD patients’

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can achieve mental and even physical health benefits by using coping techniques.

This is according to a new five-year study from Duke University Medical Center, which saw 147 COPD patients participate in coping skills training, learning how to manage stress, practice relaxation and participate in light exercise.

People who received coping skills training went on to report improvements in overall mental health, lessening their depression, anxiety, fatigue and shortness of breath when compared to the control group.

It suggests this low-cost approach could enhance quality of life, reduce distress and somatic symptoms among COPD sufferers.

Dr Scott Palmer, an associate professor of pulmonary medicine at Duke and medical director of the project, said: "Our work has established an innovative and important intervention that could improve patient quality of life. Although it has not translated into improved survival rates, this approach is worthy of further investigation."

COPD is one of the most common respiratory diseases in the UK, usually affecting people over the age of 35. More than three million people are thought to be living with the disease, of whom only about 900,000 have been diagnosed.