© 2018 Indian Journal of Respiratory Care | Published by Wolters Kluwer ‑ Medknow 83 Original Article IntroductIon The WHO defines chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as a lung disease characterized by progressive and irreversible chronic obstruction of lung airflow that interferes with normal breathing. [1] COPD is a major cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe responsible for 5% of all deaths in 2015. [1] It is estimated that by 2030, COPD will become the third leading cause of death worldwide. [1] Low‑ and middle‑income countries such as India shoulder much of the burden with 90% of the total COPD‑related deaths, where effective strategies for prevention and control are not always implemented or accessible. [1,2] Despite this enormous health burden, COPD remains an under‑researched disease in India with lack of awareness among patients regarding prevention and care. COPD involves a gradual and progressive decline in the lung function which results in increased dyspnea. The experience of breathlessness can be distressing and diffcult to understand and control. A signifcant correlation has been established in the development of psychiatric comorbidities such as depression and anxiety in chronic diseases because of its impact on daily activities, sleep, and social life of patients. [3‑6] Although identifcation and management of the physical signs and symptoms of chronic lung diseases have improved, the psychosocial burden is often unrecognized and neglected. Maurer et al. suggested that the prevalence of psychological Helplessness in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: Assessment and Correlation with Sociodemographic Factors and Spirometry‑based Severity Akshee Batra, Garvit Chhabra, Pradeep Kumar Gupta 1 Department of Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, 1 Department of Medicine, Deep Chand Bandhu Government Hospital, New Delhi, India Introduction: Mortality attributable to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in India is estimated to be among the highest in the world. Although identifcation and management of symptoms and signs of chronic lung diseases have improved, the psychosocial burden is often unrecognized and neglected. Psychological distress increases dependence on others, causes less effective self‑management and longer hospital stays, and is known to greatly infuence the disease progression. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the degree of helplessness among COPD patients and establish its correlation with sociodemographic factors and disease severity. Subjects and Methods: This was a cross‑sectional study carried out in a secondary care hospital of Delhi. A predesigned, pretested COPD Helplessness Index (CHI) questionnaire was administered to 224 participants aged 40 years or above, after obtaining informed consent. Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease staging system for COPD was used to categorize patients according to their disease severity. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 17.0. Moreover, P < 0.05 was considered signifcant. Results: CHI was found to be directly related with COPD severity (P < 0.001). Elderly patients, males, illiterates, and smokers were found to have a higher CHI score showing helplessness in study participants. Conclusions: There is a strong correlation between helplessness and pulmonary function with age, gender, literacy, and smoking status having a signifcant infuence on the psychological state of COPD patients. An integrated effort on the part of the patients, doctors, and the society is required to reduce the burden of COPD. Keywords: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Helplessness Index, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, helplessness, psychosocial Address for correspondence: Dr. Garvit Chhabra, Room‑136, Old Boys Hostel, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi ‑ 110 002, India. E‑mail: garvit.chhabra26@gmail.com Access this article online Quick Response Code: Website: www.ijrconline.org DOI: 10.4103/ijrc.ijrc_28_17 How to cite this article: Batra A, Chhabra G, Gupta PK. Helplessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients: Assessment and correlation with sociodemographic factors and spirometry‑based severity. Indian J Respir Care 2018;7:83‑7. Abstract This is an open access journal, and artcles are distributed under the terms of the Creatve Commons Atributon-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creatons are licensed under the identcal terms. For reprints contact: reprints@medknow.com [Downloaded free from http://www.ijrconline.org on Sunday, July 1, 2018, IP: 10.232.74.27]