Breathing exercises for adults with asthma

Asthma is one of the most common chronic noncommunicable diseases and is characterized by respiratory symptoms and variable airflow limitation.1 It is usually associated with airway inflammation and with the cornerstone of pharmacological treatment is inhaled corticosteroids (ICS).1 Dysfunctional breathing patterns are common in people with asthma, and breathing exercises are a nonpharmacological treatment used to supplement pharmacotherapy.2,3 However, the clinical effectiveness of breathing exercises for managing asthma is unclear.4 Other related treatments such as yoga have shown moderatequality evidence for small improvements in quality of life and symptoms in asthmatics.5 This Cochrane review is an update of the previous 2013 review evaluating the evidence for the efficacy of breathing exercises in the management of people with asthma. It includes nine new studies totalling 1910 new participants.6 This is an abstract of a Cochrane review published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020, Issue 3. (see www. cochr aneli brary.com for information). Cochrane reviews are regularly updated as new evidence emerges and in response to feedback, and the Cochrane Library should be consulted for the most recent version of the review.