Source: Annual Congress 2011 - Exacerbations and severe chronic respiratory disease: oxygen, rehabilitation, admission to hospital and palliative care
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

Aim: The effect of context variables on the perception of breathlessness has been investigated extensively, but not in a social cognitive framework. Our aim was to test how findings in social cognition can be translated from general self-perception to research on dyspnea. We investigated the effect of social comparison on perceived dyspnea in an experimental study in asthma patients and in a field study in COPD patients in rehabilitation.
Methods: In Study 1, 50 asthma patients participated in an experiment with two sequences of resistive load breathing. Both sequences were preceded by the presentation of one of two social comparison standards. We measured reported dyspnea and persistence in load breathing. In Study 2, 48 patients with COPD completed measures on social comparison at the start and end of rehabilitation as well as on perceived dyspnea during activity. In both studies, we expected comparison standards to affect self-report of breathlessness. We controlled for functional parameters such as lung function (Study 1) and BODE index (Study 2).
Results: In both studies, we found an significant impact of social comparison on the report of breathlessness. In Study 1, we found social comparison to have an impact on persistence in load breathing. Furthermore, as moderator of the relationship of social comparison and dyspnea we identified perceived similarity with comparison standards.
Conclusion: Social cognitive processes can shape the perception of breathlessness. Particularly in settings with a strong social component such as group exercise training in rehabilitation, these social cognitive mechanisms might be important targets to improve exercise persistence.

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Citations should be made in the following way:
S. Petersen, O. Van den Bergh (Leuven, Belgium). Breathlessness and social cognition: The effect of social comparison on perceived breathlessness in asthma and COPD. Eur Respir J 2011; 38: Suppl. 55, 1252

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