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Abstract C hronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death with about 110000 deaths annually (Hayert et al., 1999). In the UK, the prevalence of COPD has been estimated at 1%, rising to 5% of men aged 65-74 years and 10% of men aged over 75 years. It is thought that only a quarter of COPD cases are diagnosed (Fehrenbach, 2004). Epidemiological surveys revealed a high prevalence of COPD in elderly much of which is under detected clinically and thus untreated. Studies suggested that nearly 30% of inner city community dwellers over the age of 65 years have airway obstruction and that nearly two third of those receive no treatment (Renwich & Connolly, 1996). Patients with COPD have a poor quality of life and limited life expectancy. They suffer from a significant psychological impairment (Fuchs-Climent et al., 2000). The hospital anxiety scale scores suggested that 90% of patients with COPD suffered clinically relevant anxiety (Goldney et al., 2000). Anxiety contributed significantly to the overall variance in functional status and prognosis of COPD in elderly patients (Kim et al., 2000). Anxiety symptoms are common in elderly patients with COPD with a prevalence of about 31°/o (Yohannes et al., 2000). |