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To the Editor: Dr Smyth and colleagues¹ present convincing evidence for the salutary effects of writing on the course of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Their subjects experienced improvement in lung function or symptoms of arthritis 4 months after writing about the "most stressful experience they had ever undergone" for 20 minutes on 3 consecutive days. The authors did not define the mechanism for this change.

Since 1988, I have required patients who request an appointment with me to write a detailed history of their asthma (1-10 pages) prior to their first consultation. I instituted this procedure to save the patient time and money and I believe it has.

An unexpected result was that patients now come for their visit with a fuller understanding and appreciation of their asthma story. In my experience, these patients understand the impact of asthma on their daily lives and are more willing to use inhaled . . . [Full Text of this Article]