The Effect of a Brief Mindfulness Training on Distress Tolerance and Stress Reactivity.

Poor distress tolerance (DT) is considered an underlying facet of anxiety, depression, and a number of other psychological disorders. Mindfulness may help to increase DT by fostering an attitude of acceptance or nonjudgment toward distressing experiences. Accordingly, the present study examined the effects of a brief mindfulness training on tolerance of different types of distress, and tested whether trait mindfulness moderates the effect of such training. Undergraduates (n = 107) naïve to mindfulness completed a measure of trait mindfulness and underwent a series of stress tasks (cold pressor, hyperventilation challenge, neutralization task) before and after completing a 15-minute mindfulness training or a no-instruction control in which participants listened to relaxing music. Participants in the mindfulness condition demonstrated greater task persistence on the hyperventilation task compared to the control group, as well as a decreased urge to neutralize the effects of writing an upsetting sentence. No effect on distress ratings during the tasks were found. Overall trait mindfulness did not significantly moderate task persistence, but those with lower scores on the act with awareness facet of mindfulness demonstrated greater relative benefit of mindfulness training on the hyperventilation challenge. Mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects of mindfulness training on cold pressor task persistence and urges to neutralize through the use of the nonjudge and nonreact facets of mindfulness. These results suggest that a brief mindfulness training can increase DT without affecting the subjective experience of distress.

The effect of physiotherapy-based breathing retraining on asthma control.

BACKGROUND: The mechanism of the breathing retraining effect on asthma control is not adequately based on evidence. OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of physiotherapy-based breathing retraining on asthma control and on asthma physiological indices across time. STUDY DESIGN: A 6-month controlled study was conducted. Adult patients with stable, mild to moderate asthma (n = 40), under the same specialist's care, were randomized either to be trained as one group receiving 12 individual breathing retraining sessions (n = 20), or to have usual asthma care (n = 20). The main outcome was the Asthma Control Test score, with secondary outcomes the end-tidal carbon dioxide, respiratory rate, spirometry, and the scores of Nijmegen Hyperventilation Questionnaire, Medical Research Council scale, and SF-36v2 quality-of-life questionnaire. RESULTS: The 2 × 4 ANOVA showed significant interaction between intervention and time in asthma control (F = 9.03, p < .001, η(2) = 0.19), end-tidal carbon dioxide (p < .001), respiratory rate (p < .001), symptoms of hypocapnia (p = .001), FEV1% predicted (p = .022), and breathlessness disability (p = .023). The 2 × 4 MANOVA showed significant interaction between intervention and time, with respect to the two components of the SF-36v2 (p < .001). CONCLUSION: Breathing retraining resulted in improvement not only in asthma control but in physiological indices across time as well. Further studies are needed to confirm the benefits of this training in order to help patients with stable asthma achieve the control of their disease.

Breathing retraining - a five-year follow-up of patients with dysfunctional breathing.

INTRODUCTION: The term dysfunctional breathing (DB) has been introduced to describe patients who display divergent breathing patterns and have breathing problems that cannot be attributed to a specific medical diagnosis. Patients with DB are often misdiagnosed as having asthma. OBJECTIVES: To describe patients with DB, five years after a breathing retraining intervention. METHODS: Out of initially 25 patients with DB and 25 age and sex-matched patients with asthma, 22 patients with DB and 23 patients with asthma (ages 25-78 years) were followed up after five years. Data were collected from posted self-report questionnaires. Only patients with DB had received breathing retraining, consisting of information, advice and diaphragmatic breathing. Patients were evaluated regarding quality of life (SF-36), anxiety, depression, sense of coherence, hyperventilation, influence on daily life, emergency room (ER) visits, and symptoms associated with DB. RESULTS: Quality of life (SF-36), physical component summary scale (PCS), had improved in patients with DB from 43 to 47 (p = 0.03). The number of ER visits had decreased from 18 to 2 in patients with DB (p = 0.02). Symptoms associated with DB had decreased extensively, from a mean score of 6.9 to 2.7, on a DB criterion list (p < 0.001). Patients with DB were less impaired by their breathing problems both in daily life and when exercising (p < 0.001). The only difference found over time in the asthma group concerned quality of health, bodily pain, which had deteriorated, from 77 to 68 (p = 0.049). CONCLUSION: This five-year follow-up study indicates that patients with dysfunctional breathing benefit from breathing retraining.

Shrinking lung syndrome in pregnancy complicated by antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Shrinking lung syndrome is characterized by pulmonary compromise secondary to unilateral or bilateral paralysis of the diaphragm. CASE: Shrinking lung syndrome was diagnosed in a patient with antiphospholipid syndrome after a cesarean delivery at 28 4/7 weeks of gestation. Signs and symptoms included unexplained right-side chest pain, dyspnea, tachypnea, and absent breath sounds at the right base of the lungs. After initiation of corticosteroids, her symptoms resolved. CONCLUSION: Although seen in association with systemic lupus erythematosus, shrinking lung syndrome has not been described with antiphospholipid syndrome or during pregnancy. Diagnosis and awareness are important because treatment with moderate- to high-dose corticosteroids appears to improve the clinical outcome.

Relationships between measures of dysfunctional breathing in a population with concerns about their breathing.

BACKGROUND: Dysfunctional breathing (DB) is implicated in physical and psychological health, however evaluation is hampered by lack of rigorous definition and clearly defined measures. Screening tools for DB include biochemical measures such as end-tidal CO(2), biomechanical measures such assessments of breathing pattern, breathing symptom questionnaires and tests of breathing function such as breath holding time. AIM: This study investigates whether screening tools for dysfunctional breathing measure distinct or associated aspects of breathing functionality. METHOD: 84 self-referred or practitioner-referred individuals with concerns about their breathing were assessed using screening tools proposed to identify DB. Correlations between these measures were determined. RESULTS: Significant correlations where found within categories of measures however correlations between variables in different categories were generally not significant. No measures were found to correlate with carbon dioxide levels. CONCLUSION: DB cannot be simply defined. For practical purposes DB is probably best characterised as a multi-dimensional construct with at least 3 dimensions, biochemical, biomechanical and breathing related symptoms. Comprehensive evaluation of breathing dysfunction should include measures of breathing symptoms, breathing pattern, resting CO(2) and also include functional measures such a breath holding time and response of breathing to physical and psychological challenges including stress testing with CO(2) monitoring.

Feedback of end-tidal pCO2 as a therapeutic approach for panic disorder.

BACKGROUND: Given growing evidence that respiratory dysregulation is a central feature of panic disorder (PD) interventions for panic that specifically target respiratory functions could prove clinically useful and scientifically informative. We tested the effectiveness of a new, brief, capnometry-assisted breathing therapy (BRT) on clinical and respiratory measures in PD. METHODS: Thirty-seven participants with PD with or without agoraphobia were randomly assigned to BRT or to a delayed-treatment control group. Clinical status, respiration rate, and end-tidal pCO(2) were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, 2-month and 12-month follow-up. Respiratory measures were also assessed during homework exercises using a portable capnometer as a feedback device. RESULTS: Significant improvements (in PD severity, agoraphobic avoidance, anxiety sensitivity, disability, and respiratory measures) were seen in treated, but not untreated patients, with moderate to large effect sizes. Improvements were maintained at follow-up. Treatment compliance was high for session attendance and homework exercises; dropouts were few. CONCLUSIONS: The data provide preliminary evidence that raising end-tidal pCO(2) by means of capnometry feedback is therapeutically beneficial for panic patients. Replication and extension will be needed to verify this new treatment's efficacy and determine its mechanisms.

[The hyperventilation syndrome]. / Le syndrome d'hyperventilation.

The hyperventilation syndrome is a disease affecting children as well as adults. It predominates in female and may be debilitating. It is frequently associated with anxiety. The diagnosis, that is unfortunately often belated, is a diagnosis of exclusion and relies on the anamnesis, various non specific signs, on the Nijmegens score and on a hyperventilation provocation test. A specialized treatment allows, in most cases, a good control of ventilation and the disappearance of symptoms.

Hyperventilation in the vestibular clinic: use of the Nijmegen Questionnaire.

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of hyperventilation syndrome in patients seen for vestibular assessment and to assess the clinical utility of the Nijmegen Questionnaire in this group. The Nijmegen Questionnaire and Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) were administered prospectively to a consecutive series of 100 patients identified as candidates for vestibular assessment within the University Hospital Neuro-otology practice. Twenty-three per cent of patients seen for vestibular assessment were diagnosed with hyperventilation syndrome using the Nijmegen Questionnaire. Seventeen of these (74%) would have remained undetected had the Nijmegen questionnaire not been used. No relationship was found between vestibular assessment results and either Nijmegen or DHI scores. A significant correlation was found between DHI scores and Nijmegen Questionnaire scores (rho = 0.348, P = 0.0005). In conclusion, the Nijmegen Questionnaire is a quick, easy to administer and low-impact assessment tool for hyperventilation syndrome and is a useful adjunct to the otological consultation. Diagnosed patients can then be offered breathing control exercises as part of a vestibular rehabilitation programme.

The pathophysiology of hyperventilation syndrome.

Hyperventilation is defined as breathing in excess of the metabolic needs of the body, eliminating more carbon dioxide than is produced, and, consequently, resulting in respiratory alkalosis and an elevated blood pH. The traditional definition of hyperventilation syndrome describes "a syndrome, characterized by a variety of somatic symptoms induced by physiologically inappropriate hyperventilation and usually reproduced by voluntary hyperventilation". The spectrum of symptoms ascribed to hyperventilation syndrome is extremely broad, aspecific and varying. They stem from virtually every tract, and can be caused by physiological mechanisms such as low Pa,CO2, or the increased sympathetic adrenergic tone. Psychological mechanisms also contribute to the symptomatology, or even generate some of the symptoms. Taking the traditional definition of hyperventilation syndrome as a starting point, there should be three elements to the diagnostic criterion: 1) the patient should hyperventilate and have low Pa,CO2, 2) somatic diseases causing hyperventilation should have been excluded, and 3) the patient should have a number of complaints which are, or have been, related to the hypocapnia. Recent studies have questioned the tight relationship between hypocapnia and complaints. However, the latter can be maintained and/or elicited when situations in the absence of hypocapnia in which the first hyperventilation and hypocapnia was present recur. Thus, the main approach to diagnosis is the detection of signs of (possible) dysregulation of breathing leading to hypocapnia. The therapeutic approach to hyperventilation syndrome has several stages and/or degrees of intervention: psychological counselling, physiotherapy and relaxation, and finally drug therapy. Depending on the severity of the problem, one or more therapeutic strategies can be chosen.

[Occurrence of hyperventilation syndrome in Chinese patients].

OBJECTIVE: To evidence the occurrence of hyperventilation syndrome in Chinese patients. METHOD: Case report and literature review. RESULT: Three cases with manifest hyperventilation syndrome were reported. The diagnosis was based on the presence of several suggestive complaints occurring in a context of stress, and the reproduction of the most important complaints by the hyperventilation provocation test. Organic diseases as a cause of the symptoms had been excluded. Breathing therapy reducing the tendency to hyperventilate by acquiring an abdominal breathing pattern, with slowing down of expiration, markedly reduced complaints in the three patients. CONCLUSION: Hyperventilation syndrome occurs also in Chinese patients.

Ventilatory response to induced auditory arousals during NREM sleep.

Sleep state instability is a potential mechanism of central apnea/hypopnea during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. To investigate this postulate, we induced brief arousals by delivering transient (0.5 second) auditory stimuli during stable NREM sleep in eight normal subjects. Arousal was determined according to American Sleep Disorders Association (ASDA) criteria. A total of 96 trials were conducted; 59 resulted in cortical arousal and 37 did not result in arousal. In trials associated with arousal, minute ventilation (VE) increased from 5.1 +/- 1.24 minutes to 7.5 +/- 2.24 minutes on the first posttone breath (p = 0.001). However, no subsequent hypopnea or apnea occurred as VE decreased gradually to 4.8 +/- 1.5 l/minute (p > 0.05) on the fifth posttone breath. Trials without arousal did not result in hyperpnea on the first breath nor subsequent hypopnea. We conclude that 1) auditory stimulation resulted in transient hyperpnea only if associated with cortical arousal; 2) hypopnea or apnea did not occur following arousal-induced hyperpnea in normal subjects; 3) interaction with fluctuating chemical stimuli or upper airway resistance may be required for arousals to cause sleep-disordered breathing.

Hyperventilation syndrome: a chimera?

There is now an impressive body of research to suggest that the concept of a discrete hyperventilation syndrome is no longer tenable. The evidence for this has been carefully gathered and the scientific studies have employed innovative methodological techniques and have introduced a key psychological dimension. Both have led to a greater understanding of the respiratory correlates of anxiety, but in the process have revealed the "hyperventilation syndrome" to be a chimera. Furthermore, there is no evidence to support the view that panic attacks and hyperventilation are synonymous: on the contrary, hyperventilation rarely accompanies panic and, when it does, it is more likely to be a consequence than a cause of the panic. Finally, there is no evidence that "breathing therapy" works by normalizing pCO2; its nonspecific effects on anxiety appear to be mediated in part by slowing respiratory rate. Further research in this field might be more profitably focused on the nature of the association between anxiety disorders and organic lung disease, especially asthma.

[Hyperventilation syndrome and reflexologic methods of its correction]. / Giperventyliatsiinyi syndrom i reflektorni zasoby iogo korektsii.

Acupuncture has been studied for possibility to be used for correction of hyperventilation disorders. Diagnostics of hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) was carried out on the basis of data of clinical, laboratory and functional methods. Acupuncture was carried out using the first (strong) variant of classical inhibitive procedure of acupuncture. It was shown that reflex therapy decreased electroencephalographic characters of dysrhythmia and exaltation and paroxysmal activity as well as inter-hemisphere asymmetry in patients with HVS. Parallel with a decrease in the degree of negative subjective sensations, minute respiratory volume, non-informity of regional ventilation were observed to decrease and partial oxygen pressure in alveolar air--to increase. The positive results of reflex therapy of HVS indicate that it is possible to correct hyperventilation disorders using no pharmacotherapy.

Hyperventilation is not diagnostically specific to panic patients.

It has been claimed that hyperventilation is a cause of panic attacks in patients suffering from panic disorder (PD), and various studies have, in fact, documented low resting CO2 in PD patients. However, most comparisons have been made using non-psychiatric controls. Since increased ventilation is a common concomitant of distress, the relevance of using healthy/non-anxious control groups may be questioned. Respiratory peculiarities of PD patients may actually just reflect background anxiety rather than a diagnostically specific feature. In order to explore the possible diagnostic specificity of hyperventilation, as well as increased respiratory rate and respiratory variability, to PD patients, capnographic patterns were analyzed from PD patients, non-panic disorder anxiety patients, and healthy controls. Capnographic data were obtained while subjects were resting, watching an exciting film, relaxing, and being exposed to idiosyncratically relevant fearful imagery. Findings were robust. As found in most studies, PD patients had lower resting CO2 than healthy controls; however, that of non-panic disorder anxiety patients was just as low as PD patients. The exciting film and fearful imagery produced consistent increases in distress and concomitant increases in respiratory rate, variability of end-tidal CO2, and decreases in end-tidal CO2. However, this was similar in all three groups. Data suggest that hyperventilation is not specific to PD patients.