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Introduction: The term dysfunctional breathing (DB) has been introduced to describe patients who display a divergent breathing pattern and have breathing problems that cannot be attributed to a specific medical diagnosis such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or sensory hyper-reactivity. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate similarities and differences in patients with DB, and patients with well-controlled asthma regarding health-related quality of life, anxiety, depression, sense of coherence (SOC), hyperventilation and effects on daily life. Methods: Twenty-five consecutive patients with DB, and 25 age- and sex-matched patients with asthma (ages 20–73 years) participated in the study. The diagnosis of DB was based on the presence of a dysfunctional breathing pattern and at least five symptoms associated with DB. Results: The group with DB had lower health-related quality of life (short form 36): vitality (mean) 47 vs 62, social functioning 70 vs 94 and role emotional 64 vs 94 (P < 0.05) than the asthmatic group. The DB group also had a higher prevalence of anxiety (56% vs 24%) and a lower SOC (134 vs 156) (P < 0.05). Hyperventilation, defined according to the Nijmegen symptoms questionnaire, was observed in 56% of patients with DB vs 20% in the asthma group (P = 0.02). Conclusions: The results of the study indicate that patients with DB are more disabled than patients with well-controlled asthma. There is a great need for more knowledge about breathing symptoms of a dysfunctional nature, to be able to identify and manage these patients adequately.

Introduction: The term dysfunctional breathing (DB) has been introduced to describe patients who display divergent breathing patterns and have breathing problems that cannot be attributed to a specific medical diagnosis. Patients with DB are often misdiagnosed as having asthma. Objectives: To describe patients with DB, five years after a breathing retraining intervention. Methods: Out of initially 25 patients with DB and 25 age and sex-matched patients with asthma, 22 patients with DB and 23 patients with asthma (ages 25-78 years) were followed up after five years. Data were collected from posted self-report questionnaires. Only patients with DB had received breathing retraining, consisting of information; advice and diaphragmatic breathing. Patients were evaluated regarding quality of life (SF-36), anxiety, depression, sense of coherence, hyperventilation, influence on daily life, emergency room (ER) visits, and symptoms associated with DB. Results: Quality of life (SF-36), physical component summary scale (PCS), had improved in patients with DB from 43 to 47 (p = 0.03). The number of ER visits had decreased from 18 to 2 in patients with DB (p = 0.02). Symptoms associated with DB had decreased extensively, from a mean score of 6.9 to 2.7, on a DB criterion list (p < 0.001). Patients with DB were less impaired by their breathing problems both in daily life and when exercising (p < 0.001). The only difference found over time in the asthma group concerned quality of health, bodily pain, which had deteriorated, from 77 to 68 (p = 0.049). Conclusion: This five-year follow-up study indicates that patients with dysfunctional breathing benefit from breathing retraining.

INTRODUCTION: The respiratory movement measuring instrument (RMMI) is a laser-based non-invasive technique to measure breathing patterns and respiratory movements (RMs). Little knowledge is known about the ability of the RMMI to measure breathing patterns and the correlation between RMs and breathing volumes.

OBJECTIVES: One aim was to investigate whether the RMMI could discriminate between normal versus abdominal versus high costal breathing patterns in different body positions. A second aim was to determine the correlation between RMs and breathing volumes in different body positions.

METHOD: Twenty adult, healthy subjects (10 women) were included in the study. The RMMI was used to study the above-mentioned breathing patterns in supine, sitting and standing positions. A subgroup of 12 subjects (6 women) simultaneously performed measurements of breathing volumes while RMs were recorded.

RESULTS: The RMMI was able to discriminate between different breathing patterns in different body positions (P<0·001). The upper thoracic contribution to RMs in the sitting position was 47% for natural breathing, 32% for abdominal breathing and 64% for high costal breathing; similar results were found in the supine and standing positions. A strong correlation was observed between RMs as measured by the RMMI and different breathing volumes in all three body positions (Spearman's rho 0·86-1·00).

CONCLUSION: The RMMI can be used to measure and analyse different breathing patterns in different body positions, and the correlation between measured RMs and breathing volumes is strong.