Ventilatory Dynamics And Exertional Dyspnea During Respiratory Challenges In Young Adults With Anxiety

Background: Anxious adults may be unwilling to exercise due to dyspnea on exertion (DOE); thus, diminishing their quality of living and potentially increasing their risk for cardiovascular disease and overall mortality. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between trait-anxiety, ventilatory dynamics, and DOE in young adults. Methods: Healthy young adults were categorized based on responses to the Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire. Subjects completed four cycling tests at 50% of their predetermined peak aerobic capacity. During exercise, dyspnea was induced via external dead space, resistance loading, or lessened via a heliox gas inspirate and compared with control. Ratings of breathlessness and unpleasantness of breathing was collected during exercise. After each trial, subjects completed a modified dyspnea and visual analog scale questionnaire describing their subjective emotions at maximum breathlessness. Results: There was no main effect of group for breathing patterns, operational lung volumes (OLV) or perception of DOE. There was a main effect of challenge on the aforementioned variables. Discussion: Although no main differences were exhibited between groups, the breathing challenges did show to influence ventilatory dynamics and perceptions of DOE. Further investigation is warranted to determine a stronger relation between anxiety, breathing mechanics and DOE.