Breathing training improves subjective health status but not pathophysiology in asthmatic adults.

Question: Does breathing training improve respiratory symptoms, quality of life and objective markers of disease severity in adults with asthma? Design: Randomised controlled trial. Setting: Ten general practitioner (GP) practices in Leicester, UK. Participants: Adults treated for asthma in a GP practice with moderate impairment of asthma-related health status, defined as a score less than 5.5 on the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ). Smokers were excluded. Randomisation of 183 participants allotted 94 to breathing training and 89 to a control group. Interventions: Usual physicians for both groups were requested to continue baseline therapy if possible. All participants were invited to 3 sessions within one month: an initial 60-min session with 2–4 participants, followed by two individual sessions of 30–45 minutes. At these sessions, the intervention group were educated about abnormal breathing patterns and taught appropriate regular diaphragmatic and nasal breathing techniques and encouraged to practise these exercises for at least 10 min each day. At the control group’s sessions, an asthma nurse provided information on the nature of asthma, Breathing training improves subjective health status but not pathophysiology in asthmatic adults