Hyperventilation in men claiming compensation for benign asbestos-related diseases.

The observation that hyperventilation was common in men involved in civil court actions compared with my non-medico-legal practice stimulated me to carefully assess 100 consecutively seen men with non-malignant asbestos-related disease(s). A diagnosis of hyperventilation was made in 33 and probable hyperventilation in 12. The development of anxiety symptoms in these men could, in part at least, be prevented or greatly decreased if more emphasis was placed on the education of ex-asbestos workers by solicitors and organisations responsible for the initiation of civil actions.