Trial reportBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2006
Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 81 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Injection Snoreplasty and Oropharyngeal Exercises: Two Therapeutic Options in the Management of Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome.
Tongue Protrusion Force: A Pilot Study
Strengthening Oropharyngeal Muscles as a Novel Approach to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea After Stroke: A Randomized Feasibility Study
Investigation of the Effects of Respiratory Muscle Training Combined With Aerobic Exercise in Persons With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome
Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Comparative effects of weight-loss diet, exercise training, respiratory muscle training, and oropharyngeal muscle training in obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of six different exercise therapies on sleep indices, cardiopulmonary endurance, and body composition in patients with sleep-related breathing disorders: network meta-analysis of 40 RCTs.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of respiratory training on obstructive sleep apnea: systematic review and meta-analysis.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2022Pooled it
- European Respiratory Society guideline on non-CPAP therapies for obstructive sleep apnoea.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2021Guideline
- Myofunctional therapy (oropharyngeal exercises) for obstructive sleep apnoea.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- The effect of playing a wind instrument or singing on risk of sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Effects of respiratory muscle therapy on obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2020Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of the impact of sleep duration on adiposity and components of energy balance.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2015Pooled it
- Myofunctional Therapy to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sleep · 2015Pooled it
- Diagnosis and treatment of snoring in adults-S2k Guideline of the German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2015Guideline
- Methods for increasing upper airway muscle tonus in treating obstructive sleep apnea: systematic review.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2010Pooled it
- Wind Instrument Training and Sound-Based Interventions for Sleep Quality and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea: A Narrative Synthesis.Noise & healthPooled it
- Auditory Biofeedback through Wind Instrument Training: A Breath-Controlled Acoustic Strategy for Modulating Anxiety and Sleep.Noise & healthPooled it
- Respiratory muscle endurance training improves exercise performance but does not affect resting blood pressure and sleep in healthy active elderly.European journal of applied physiology · 2022Trial
- The effect of tongue elevation muscle training in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: A randomised controlled trial.Journal of oral rehabilitation · 2022Trial
- Investigation of the Effectiveness of Traditional Breathing Therapy on Pulmonary Function in College Students with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.Contrast media & molecular imaging · 2022Trial
- Development and evaluation of myofunctional therapy support program (MTSP) based on self-efficacy theory for patients with obstructive sleep apnea.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2020Trial
- The effects of threshold inspiratory muscle training in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized experimental study.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2020Trial
- Smartphone-based delivery of oropharyngeal exercises for treatment of snoring: a randomized controlled trial.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2019Trial
- Effects of respiratory muscle training (RMT) in patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2018Trial
21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the effects of didgeridoo playing on daytime sleepiness and other outcomes related to sleep by reducing collapsibility of the upper airways in patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome and snoring.
designRandomised controlled trial.
settingPrivate practice of a didgeridoo instructor and a single centre for sleep medicine.
participants25 patients aged > 18 years with an apnoea-hypopnoea index between 15 and 30 and who complained about snoring.
interventionsDidgeridoo lessons and daily practice at home with standardised instruments for four months. Participants in the control group remained on the waiting list for lessons.
main outcome measureDaytime sleepiness (Epworth scale from 0 (no daytime sleepiness) to 24), sleep quality (Pittsburgh quality of sleep index from 0 (excellent sleep quality) to 21), partner rating of sleep disturbance (visual analogue scale from 0 (not disturbed) to 10), apnoea-hypopnoea index, and health related quality of life (SF-36).
resultsParticipants in the didgeridoo group practised an average of 5.9 days a week (SD 0.86) for 25.3 minutes (SD 3.4). Compared with the control group in the didgeridoo group daytime sleepiness (difference -3.0, 95% confidence interval -5.7 to -0.3, P = 0.03) and apnoea-hypopnoea index (difference -6.2, -12.3 to -0.1, P = 0.05) improved significantly and partners reported less sleep disturbance (difference -2.8, -4.7 to -0.9, P < 0.01). There was no effect on the quality of sleep (difference -0.7, -2.1 to 0.6, P = 0.27). The combined analysis of sleep related outcomes showed a moderate to large effect of didgeridoo playing (difference between summary z scores -0.78 SD units, -1.27 to -0.28, P < 0.01). Changes in health related quality of life did not differ between groups.
conclusionRegular didgeridoo playing is an effective treatment alternative well accepted by patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. Trial registration ISRCTN: 31571714.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.