Newson, Timothy P, Elias, Annie · Pediatric pulmonology · 2020 · DOI
This study looked at 18 young people (ages 11-16) who had breathing pattern disorders—abnormal ways of breathing that caused problems like chest tightness, difficulty breathing during exercise, or feeling like their throat was closing. Most of these young people also had asthma, anxiety, or other conditions. When properly diagnosed and treated by a speech therapist, most improved significantly and felt more confident managing their symptoms, though it often took months to get the right diagnosis.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS because one enrolled patient had chronic fatigue syndrome, and breathing dysfunction is increasingly recognized as a comorbid feature in ME/CFS populations. Understanding how breathing pattern disorders present, the delays in diagnosis, and successful treatment pathways may help clinicians recognize and manage respiratory symptoms in ME/CFS patients more effectively.
This study does not establish causation between anxiety, stress, and breathing disorders—only correlation. It does not demonstrate that breathing pattern disorders cause ME/CFS or vice versa, nor does it provide evidence about the prevalence of BPDs specifically in ME/CFS populations. The single ME/CFS case cannot be generalized to the broader ME/CFS patient population.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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