Anesthesia & Clinical Research
Open Access

Abstract

The Hidden Features of Breathing Types

Aynur Şahin, Serkan Doğru, İsmail Okan, Fatih Altıparmak and Mustafa Süren

Purpose: Humans have two types of breathing pattern, abdominal and thoracic, which show physiological differences. The primary goal of the present study is to assess the spirometric variability of breathing patterns in individuals, and secondary goal is to elucidate the influence of age and gender differences on breathing types.

Methods: Patients aged between 18 and 40 years were asked to participate in the study, and spirometry using the Spirodoc® (MIR-Medical International Research-Srl, Roma, Italy) was preoperatively performed on subjects. Age, gender, weight, height, body-mass index, the American Society of Anesthesiologists score, the observed breathing pattern (thoracic or abdominal) while standing, and the spirometric measurements were recorded into a standardized data sheet.

Results: A total of 126 subjects were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 29.90 ± 6.76, and the mean body-mass index value was 26.20 ± 5.84. Sixty-seven subjects were female and 59 were male. The forced expiratory time value of spirometry was found to be significantly higher in patients with abdominal breathing (5.94 ± 1.01) compared to thoracic (4.47 ± 1.32; p=0.007). The Forced inspiratory vital capacity measurement in patients with abdominal breathing pattern (4.26 ± 1.01) was higher than in thoracic (3.61 ± 1.04; p=0.063). The thoracic breathing pattern was observed at a rate of 84.7% (n=50) among subjects of the 18-29-year age group, and 73.8% (n=45) in subjects of the 30-40-year age group (p=0.139).

Conclusion: The present study revealed that abdominal breathing is superior in some aspects of spirometric measurements compared to thoracic breathing.