Study finds connection between dysfunctional breathing, poor asthma control

By Dr Deepu

Study published in Respiratory Medicine states that , “dysfunctional breathing has strong connections to poor asthma control and can be misdiagnosed in clinical settings when asthma patients have co-existing issues with dysfunctional breathing (DB).”
The study examined all patients referred consecutively over a 12-months period for specialist assessment of asthma at the Respiratory Outpatient Clinic at Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen. All patients were examined with the Nijmegen questionnaire with a DB defined as a score ≥23 and the ACQ questionnaire.  Asthma was defined as asthma symptoms and a positive asthma test.
Asthmatic patients with co-existing DB had a poorer asthma control compared to asthmatics without DB . A regression analysis showed that the effect of DB on asthma control was independent of airway hyperresponsiveness or airway inflammation in patients with DB.