COPD and emotional distress: not always noticed and therefore untreated.

There are more than three million people in the UK living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Focus tends to be on the physical effects of the condition; however, many patients living with COPD develop mental health symptoms that could go unnoticed and therefore untreated. The community nurse's role includes the management of patients with complex long-term conditions, which may include mental health issues. However, training to support patients whose condition includes a mental health component has long been considered inadequate and may lead to under diagnosis. Compared with other patients with long-term conditions, patients with COPD recount worse psychological functioning and greater psychological distress. Health-care workers' lack of mental health knowledge may be a contributory factor to why only a small proportion of patients are diagnosed and receive effective treatment.