Association of emotional state with treatment compliance and clinical symptom improvement in pediatric bronchopneumonia patients

doi:10.5498/wjp.v16.i4.111713

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Apr 19, 2026 (publication date) through Mar 30, 2026

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World Journal of Psychiatry

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2220-3206

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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

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Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.

World J Psychiatry. Apr 19, 2026; 16(4): 111713
Published online Apr 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i4.111713

Association of emotional state with treatment compliance and clinical symptom improvement in pediatric bronchopneumonia patients

Chang-Ling Ai, Dan Xu, Xin-Feng Guan

Chang-Ling Ai, Xin-Feng Guan, Second Department of Pediatrics, Zhumadian Central Hospital, Zhumadian 463000, Henan Province, China

Dan Xu, Department of Pre-Disease Treatment, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou 450003, Henan Province, China

Author contributions: Ai CL wrote the manuscript; Ai CL and Guan XF reviewed the manuscript; Ai CL and Xu D collected the data; and all authors annotated the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethic Committee of Zhumadian Central Hospital (approval No. 2025-09-KY001).

Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.

Corresponding author: Chang-Ling Ai, Second Department of Pediatrics, Zhumadian Central Hospital, No. 747 West Section of Zhonghua Road, Zhumadian 463000, Henan Province, China. changlin_ai25@126.com

Received: September 9, 2025
Revised: November 10, 2025
Accepted: December 22, 2025
Published online: April 19, 2026
Processing time: 202 Days and 1 Hours

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Anxiety and depression adversely affect clinical outcomes in children with bronchopneumonia but are often overlooked.

AIM

To clarify the relationship between emotional state, treatment compliance, and symptom improvement in children with bronchopneumonia.

METHODS

A total of 306 children with bronchopneumonia (January 2022 to January 2025) were included. Clinical data on emotional state (the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders), treatment compliance, and symptom improvement (time to wheezing, fever, lung rales, and cough resolution) were collected. Anxiety/depression status across different clinical characteristics was assessed, and its correlation with treatment compliance and symptom improvement was analyzed.

RESULTS

Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children and Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders scores were significantly higher in children with a disease duration > 4 days and moderate illness but showed no significant correlation with gender or age. Anxious or depressed children showed markedly lower overall compliance, with longer symptom-resolution times.

CONCLUSION

In pediatric bronchopneumonia, adverse emotional states are closely associated with poorer treatment compliance and slower symptom improvement. Reducing anxiety or depression may enhance compliance and alleviate symptoms.

Keywords: Pediatric bronchopneumonia; Emotional state; Depression; Anxiety; Treatment compliance; Symptom improvement

Core Tip: In 306 children with bronchopneumonia, emotional state was evaluated in relation to treatment compliance and symptom improvement. Anxiety/depression was strongly associated with lower compliance and slower symptom recovery, supporting targeted clinical psychological intervention to enhance children’s compliance and consequently accelerate rehabilitation. The findings of this study provide an important breakthrough for the rapid recovery of children with bronchopneumonia: Focusing on and improving their emotional state.