Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a debilitating lung disease characterized by chronic airflow limitation and persistent respiratory symptoms. It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, significantly impacting healthcare systems with considerable socioeconomic consequences. The main risk factors include exposure to tobacco smoke, environmental pollutants, occupational dust, and genetic factors such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. COPD is often associated with extrapulmonary comorbidities, particularly psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety, which worsen patients’ quality of life and prognosis. The prevalence of these disorders in patients with COPD varies significantly but is always higher than in healthy controls. Psychiatric disorders can negatively influence COPD management and vice versa, creating a complex bidirectional interaction. Depression and anxiety are the most common psychiatric comorbidities in patients with COPD, influenced by factors such as social isolation, physical limitations, and fear of exacerbations. Diagnosis of these psychiatric disorders is complicated by the overlap of symptoms with those of COPD. However, some screening tools can facilitate early detection. The treatment of psychiatric disorders in patients with COPD in a rehabilitation setting requires a multidisciplinary approach involving pulmonologists, neurologists and psychologists. Pharmacological therapy with antidepressants shows mixed results in terms of efficacy and safety, with some studies reporting benefits on quality of life and others suggesting an increased risk of exacerbations and pneumonia. An integrated approach that includes the assessment and intervention of mental disorders is essential to improve the overall management of COPD and the quality of life of patients. This narrative review provides an overview of the main psychiatric comorbidities in COPD patients, aiming to fill gaps in the literature and suggest areas for future research.

Background: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a genetic disorder that affects multiple systems in the body, often leading to physical disfigurements and a wide range of clinical symptoms. This study aims to investigate the relationship between NF1 severity and visibility and the quality of life (QoL) in children. Methods: The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and a modified version of the Ablon scale were used to assess QoL and NF1 severity and visibility, respectively. Self-reported and parent-reported QoL scores were compared, and the associations between NF1 severity/visibility and QoL were explored. Results: Thirty-eight pediatric NF1 patients and their parents were enrolled. QoL scores did not differ significantly between patient self-reports and parent reports. However, correlational analyses revealed that higher NF1 severity was associated with lower physical QoL in patients, and greater NF1 visibility was linked to lower physical and social QoL. For parents, higher NF1 severity correlated with lower school functioning, whereas NF1 visibility did not show a significant correlation with QoL. Conclusion: The severity and visibility of NF1 have distinct impacts on various aspects of QoL in children, highlighting the need for tailored interventions that address both physical and psychological challenges. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensive care approaches in managing NF1 in pediatric populations.

Resting-state network topology may provide a powerful framework for understanding how large-scale brain organisation supports cognitive functions. However, the topological correlates of social cognition remain poorly characterised. This study examined whether individual differences in social cognition are associated with the global topology of the resting-state functional connectome derived from high-density EEG across canonical frequency bands. Twenty-eight healthy young adults underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, including measures of global cognition, theory of mind, empathy, and social norm processing. High-density eyes-closed resting EEG was acquired, and source-reconstructed connectivity matrices were estimated using the phase-locking value. For each frequency band, global graph-theoretical measures of segregation (average clustering coefficient, CC), integration (characteristic path length, CPL), and small-worldness were computed. We found selective associations between network topology and the intrapersonal component of social norm processing. Higher intrapersonal norm scores were related to lower CC and longer CPL, predominantly in the theta and alpha bands. These relationships held after controlling for demographic variables and were supported by multivariate analyses. No other social cognition measures showed equally significant associations with resting-state EEG topology. These findings suggest that individual variability in intrapersonal social norm processing may be associated with differences in the global organisation of the intrinsic functional connectome and highlight the relevance of investigating normative aspects of social cognition within a resting-state connectomics framework.