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Association Between Mouth Breathing and Asthma: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

  • Asthma (V Ortega, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the association between asthma and mouth breathing. We performed a systematic search in the PubMed, SCOPUS, Lilacs, Web of Science, Google Scholar and OpenThesis databases.

Recent Findings

Asthma is defined as a heterogeneous disease characterized by variable symptoms of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest oppression and/or cough, and limitation of expiratory airflow. Although several studies have examined the association between asthma and mouth breathing, there are no systematic reviews or meta-analyses that synthesize the available bodies of evidence.

Summary

We used the odds ratio as a measure of the association between asthma and mouth breathing. Summary estimates were calculated using random-effects models, and the risk of bias was estimated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for case-control studies and the National Institutes of Health tool for cross-sectional studies. Nine studies were included in the present systematic review. Data from 12,147 subjects were analyzed, of which 2083 were children and adolescents and 10,064 were adults. We found an association between mouth breathing and asthma in children and adolescents (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.78–3.39) and in adults (OR 4.60, 95% CI 1.49–14.20). However, limitations were found in the methodological description of the included studies, as well as high heterogeneity among studies evaluating adult populations. This meta-analysis showed an association between mouth breathing and asthma in children, adolescents and adults, but the results should be interpreted with caution. Further studies with standardized criteria for the investigation of mouth breathing are needed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico—CNPq.

Funding

This study was funded by CNPq—Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CHAMADA UNIVERSAL MCTI/CNPq No. 01/2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Speech Therapy, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Brazil

    Brenda Carla Lima Araújo

  2. Department of Medicine, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Brazil

    Silvia de Magalhães Simões

  3. Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Sergipe, Rua Cláudio Batista, s/n. Bairro Sanatório, Aracaju, SE, 49060-100, Brazil

    Brenda Carla Lima Araújo, Silvia de Magalhães Simões, Vanessa Tavares de Gois-Santos & Paulo Ricardo Saquete Martins-Filho

  4. Investigative Pathology Laboratory, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Brazil

    Brenda Carla Lima Araújo, Vanessa Tavares de Gois-Santos & Paulo Ricardo Saquete Martins-Filho

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  1. Brenda Carla Lima Araújo
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Contributions

Brenda Carla Lima Araújo participated in the idealization of the study; data collection, analysis, and interpretation; and the writing of the article. Vanessa Tavares de Gois-Santos, Brenda Carla Lima Araújo, and Paulo Ricardo Saquete Martins-Filho participated in data collection. Silvia de Magalhães Simões and Paulo Ricardo Saquete Martins-Filho participated in guiding the idealization of the study; data analysis and interpretation; and the writing of the article.

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Correspondence to Brenda Carla Lima Araújo.

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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All authors were involved in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, and all authors approved the final version to be submitted for publication as stated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE): Ms. Brenda Araújo had full access to all the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

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Araújo, B.C.L., de Magalhães Simões, S., de Gois-Santos, V.T. et al. Association Between Mouth Breathing and Asthma: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 20, 24 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-020-00921-9

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