Milne Kathryn M, Zhang Julia, Harris Owen D, Guenette Jordan A
Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital, The University of British Columbia and Providence Research, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Division of Respiratory Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Jul 9;12:1627496. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1627496. eCollection 2025.
Females experience greater dyspnea intensity compared to males. The role of sex in dyspnea quality and emotional responses in respiratory outpatients is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine sex-differences in dyspnea quality and affective distress as well as relationships between dyspnea, anxiety, and depression.
Respiratory outpatients rated chronic exertional dyspnea intensity and impact using the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale. Participants selected qualitative dyspnea descriptors from an established list of 15 descriptors and completed the Multidimensional Dyspnea Profile (MDP). Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
Participants ( = 78) had a variety of common respiratory diagnoses. Males and females experienced similar dyspnea impact (mMRC) and were matched for relative impairment in lung function. Females rated higher intensity of breathing muscle work, chest tightness, and mental effort. The affective response to dyspnea was greater in females, with significantly higher reports of anxiety, frustration, and fear related to dyspnea. HADS anxiety subscale scores were correlated with MDP dyspnea scores of breathing discomfort, immediate perception domain, and emotional response domain in males. In females, higher HADS anxiety scores were correlated with the emotional response domain only. Males with higher likelihood of anxiety experienced greater frustration, anger, and fear related to dyspnea; however, this was not the case for females.
In respiratory outpatients, despite similar lung function impairment and mMRC scores, females experience greater breathing muscle work, chest tightness, and mental effort as well as significantly greater anxiety, frustration, and fear related to dyspnea.
与男性相比，女性经历的呼吸困难强度更大。性别在呼吸门诊患者的呼吸困难性质和情绪反应中的作用尚不清楚。本研究的目的是探讨呼吸困难性质和情感痛苦方面的性别差异，以及呼吸困难、焦虑和抑郁之间的关系。
呼吸门诊患者使用改良的医学研究委员会（mMRC）呼吸困难量表对慢性运动性呼吸困难的强度和影响进行评分。参与者从一份既定的15个描述词列表中选择定性的呼吸困难描述词，并完成多维呼吸困难量表（MDP）。使用医院焦虑抑郁量表（HADS）评估焦虑和抑郁症状。
参与者（n = 78）有多种常见的呼吸系统诊断。男性和女性经历的呼吸困难影响相似（mMRC），并且在肺功能的相对损害方面相匹配。女性对呼吸肌工作、胸闷和精神努力的强度评分更高。女性对呼吸困难的情感反应更大，与呼吸困难相关的焦虑、沮丧和恐惧的报告显著更高。男性的HADS焦虑分量表得分与MDP中呼吸不适、即时感知领域和情感反应领域的呼吸困难得分相关。在女性中，较高的HADS焦虑得分仅与情感反应领域相关。焦虑可能性较高的男性与呼吸困难相关的沮丧、愤怒和恐惧更强烈；然而，女性并非如此。
在呼吸门诊患者中，尽管肺功能损害和mMRC评分相似，但女性经历的呼吸肌工作、胸闷和精神努力更大，以及与呼吸困难相关的焦虑、沮丧和恐惧也显著更大。
