24.10.2005
Researchers at the University of Brighton have been awarded a grant of over £95,000 over two years by Asthma UK to test whether writing about stressful experiences can improve lung function, decrease asthma symptoms and improve quality of life for people with asthma in Britain.
Addressing people's psychological needs can produce improvements in both their mental and physical health. In the last decade, several research studies have demonstrated that writing about emotionally traumatic experiences can improve how healthy people feel and reduce their use of health care services. More recently, studies have begun to focus on people with particular long term diseases.
The study, led by Professors Robert Horne and Helen Smith, will ask two groups of 62 people with asthma to undertake a 20 minute writing task for three consecutive days. One group will write about emotional issues and the other will write on non-emotional topics. If improvements are observed the team will continue to follow study participants for up to 12 months to determine for how long these improvements are sustained.
The relationship between asthma and emotion is complex. Emotionally traumatic or stressful events are known to trigger asthma attacks for many people with asthma. A study from North America suggested that writing about their experiences results in about 50% of patients with asthma experiencing positive changes in their health compared to 25% of a healthy control group.
Professor Smith from Brighton & Sussex Medical School and Professor Horne leading the team at the University of Brighton said: "Expressive writing is a potentially cheap and safe intervention that may bring benefit to a large number of people with asthma. We are delighted to have the funding to formally evaluate this novel form of treatment."
Dr. Lyn Smurthwaite, Research Development Manager at Asthma UK comments: "It is well-known that there is a complex link between asthma and emotion. Asthma UK is pleased to be funding this University of Brighton study to investigate if writing about emotional events can improve the daily life of people with asthma."
- Asthma UK is the charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the 5.2 million people in the UK whose lives are affected by asthma.
- For independent and confidential advice on asthma, call the Asthma UK Adviceline, which is staffed by asthma nurse specialists. It is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm on 08457 01 02 03. Or email an asthma nurse at www.asthma.org.uk/adviceline.
- For up-to-date news on asthma, information and publications, visit the Asthma UK website www.asthma.org.uk.
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton,
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