title: Fear of suffocation alters respiration during obstructed breathing.
abstract: We aimed to investigate whether fear of suffocation predicts healthy persons' respiratory and affective responses to obstructed breathing as evoked by inspiratory resistive loads. Participants (N = 27 women, ages between 18 and 21 years) completed the Fear of Suffocation scale and underwent 16 trials in which an inspiratory resistive load of 15 cmH(2)O/l/s (small) or 40 cmH(2)O/l/s (large) was added to the breathing circuit for 40 s. Fear of suffocation was associated with higher arousal ratings for both loads. Loaded breathing was associated with a decrease in minute ventilation, but progressively less so for participants scoring higher on fear of suffocation when breathing against the large load. The present findings document a potentially panicogenic mechanism that may maintain and worsen respiratory discomfort in persons with fear of suffocation.
authors.affiliation: Research Group on Health Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Meike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pappens
authors.forename: Elyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smets
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Van Den Bergh
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Van Diest
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000403:Airway Resistance / Q000502:physiology; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000523:psychology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012119:Respiration; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult