ReviewEuropean respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society2016
Dysfunctional breathing: a review of the literature and proposal for classification.
Review in European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 136 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
136 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 344 citations in OpenAlex.
- Validity and reliability of outcome measures to assess dysfunctional breathing: a systematic review.BMJ open respiratory research · 2024Pooled it
- Breathing exercises for adults with asthma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Effectiveness of a home-based exercise program on functional outcomes in women with asthma: A randomized controlled trial.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2026Trial
- The breath and mind connection in young people with post-COVID syndrome: feasibility and acceptability of a pilot randomised co-designed intervention.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Trial
- Light at the end of the tunnel? Follow-up of cardiopulmonary function in children with post-COVID-19.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Trial
- Breathing therapy for patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms and dysfunctional breathing: A pilot and feasibility trial.PloS one · 2025Trial
- Cardiopulmonary function in paediatric post-COVID-19: a controlled clinical trial.European journal of pediatrics · 2024Trial
- Mind-Body Intervention for Dysfunctional Breathing in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Feasibility Study and Lessons Learned.Journal of integrative and complementary medicine · 2023Trial
- Novel Real-Time OEP Phase Angle Feedback System for Dysfunctional Breathing Pattern Training-An Acute Intervention Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Trial
- Effect of continuous positive airway pressure associated to exercise on the breathing pattern and heart rate variability of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery: a randomized controlled trial.Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologica · 2021Trial
- Post COVID REspiratory mechanisms and the efficacy of a breathing exercise intervention for DYsregulated breathing (Remedy): A feasibility RCT study.Chronic respiratory diseaseTrial
- Mild hyperventilation with preserved exercise capacity in patients with self-reported long-term dyspnea after COVID-19-a prospective cohort study in a primary healthcare setting.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Dysautonomia and Postural Orthostatic Syndrome of Hypocapnia in Long COVID Syndrome.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Validation of the Paediatric Nijmegen Questionnaire in Sweden: A Self-Screening Tool for Dysfunctional Breathing.The clinical respiratory journal · 2026Article
- Breathing pattern disorder: assessment and diagnosis.ERJ open research · 2026Review
- Intermetallic-anchored epidermal EGaIn patch with analog constriction gates for cardiorespiratory monitoring.Science advances · 2026Article
- Article
- The Effectiveness of Cervical Spine and Diaphragm Manual Therapy Combined with Breathing Re-Education Exercises on Musculoskeletal, Respiratory and Psychophysiological Outcomes in Patients with Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- A comprehensive comparison of primary hyperventilation syndrome versus hyperventilation syndrome secondary to respiratory infections.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Physiotherapy Education and Breathing Retraining for Patients With Hyperventilation Syndrome: An Observational Study.Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada · 2026Article
76 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Dysfunctional breathing is a term describing breathing disorders where chronic changes in breathing pattern result in dyspnoea and other symptoms in the absence or in excess of the magnitude of physiological respiratory or cardiac disease. We reviewed the literature and propose a classification system for the common dysfunctional breathing patterns described. The literature was searched using the terms: dysfunctional breathing, hyperventilation, Nijmegen questionnaire and thoraco-abdominal asynchrony. We have summarised the presentation, assessment and treatment of dysfunctional breathing, and propose that the following system be used for classification. 1) Hyperventilation syndrome: associated with symptoms both related to respiratory alkalosis and independent of hypocapnia. 2) Periodic deep sighing: frequent sighing with an irregular breathing pattern. 3) Thoracic dominant breathing: can often manifest in somatic disease, if occurring without disease it may be considered dysfunctional and results in dyspnoea. 4) Forced abdominal expiration: these patients utilise inappropriate and excessive abdominal muscle contraction to aid expiration. 5) Thoraco-abdominal asynchrony: where there is delay between rib cage and abdominal contraction resulting in ineffective breathing mechanics.This review highlights the common abnormalities, current diagnostic methods and therapeutic implications in dysfunctional breathing. Future work should aim to further investigate the prevalence, clinical associations and treatment of these presentations.
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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.