A comparison between patients with dysfunctional breathing and patients with asthma

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. Please cite this paper as: Hagman C, Janson C and Emtner M. A comparison between patients with dysfunctional breathing and patients with asthma. The Clinical Respiratory Journal 2008; 2: 86–91.