Hyperventilation syndrome in adolescents with and without asthma.

Abstract

Data on the prevalence of hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) in adolescents are scanty. To determine the prevalence of HVS in a population of adolescents with and without asthma, and to verify whether HVS was related to asthma activity. A population of adolescents was asked to self-complete a questionnaire, including the Nijmegen questionnaire to assess HVS, and a standardized asthma questionnaire. Seven hundred and sixty questionnaires were suitable for analysis. One hundred and twenty subjects (15.8%) were classified as asthmatic. Forty-seven subjects (6.2%) had a Nijmegen score ≥ 23, which was suggestive of HVS. Symptoms indicative of HVS were ten times more common in subjects with asthma (25%) than in those without asthma (2.5%). Nijmegen score was significantly higher in subjects with lifetime asthma (P < 0.001), current episodic asthma (P < 0.05) and current active asthma (P < 0.001) than in those with no asthma. In the whole population, girls presented HVS more frequently than boys (P < 0.001). There was a significant effect of gender (females, OR 3.2) and status of asthma (lifetime asthma, OR 11.2; current episodic asthma, OR 8.9; current active asthma, OR 41.5) on the probability of suffering from HVS. The prevalence of symptoms indicative of HVS in an unselected population of adolescents was relatively high. Symptoms were more common in girls and in subjects with asthma, and there was a significant effect of asthma activity on the probability of suffering from HVS. Further studies need to be performed in order to validate a screening tool for HVS in both adolescents and asthmatic subjects.