Individuals With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Experience Lower Levels of Happiness Than Their Healthy Peers: A Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with significant psychological distress, including anxiety and depression, which negatively impact quality of life. While these emotional burdens are well-documented, little is known about how COPD influences positive psychological states, such as happiness. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate whether individuals with COPD experience lower levels of happiness compared to healthy peers.

METHODS

This cross-sectional case-control study included 82 participants (41 with clinically stable COPD and 41 healthy controls) matched for age, sex, social class, and economic status. Exclusion criteria included acute health complications, acute COPD exacerbations, or coexisting cardiovascular, neurological, musculoskeletal, or other respiratory diseases. Happiness was assessed using the Subjective Happiness Scale, Cantril Ladder Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale, with higher scores representing better happiness status. Statistical comparisons between groups were performed using t-tests or Mann-Whitney tests, as appropriate, with significance set at p < 0.05.

RESULTS

Individuals with COPD (23 males; age 69.0 ± 10.3 years), predominantly with moderate to severe airflow limitation, exhibited significantly lower levels of happiness compared to age-, sex-, social class, and economically-matched healthy controls. Median (IQR) scores were consistently lower in the COPD group across all measures: Subjective Happiness Scale, 4.5 (4.2-5.0) versus 6.3 (5.8-7.0); Cantril Ladder Scale, 6.0 (5.0-8.0) versus 8.0 (7.5-9.0); and Satisfaction with Life Scale, 23.0 (18.5-30.0) versus 31.0 (28.0-33.0), with all comparisons reaching statistical significance (p < 0.001) and demonstrating medium to large effect sizes.

CONCLUSION

Individuals with COPD experience significantly lower levels of happiness compared to healthy peers. These findings suggest that positive psychological states are impaired in this population, indicating that the impact of the disease extends beyond traditional measures of distress and may warrant further investigation in clinical practice.