Abstract

Objectives

Slow-paced breathing entails voluntarily controlling one’s breathing rate to a frequency close to the oscillation frequency of the cardiovascular system. Accumulating evidence indicates slow-paced breathing improves cardiovascular and emotion functions. However, there is no meta-analysis that quantifies pooled effect of slow-paced breathing across studies with nonclinical populations.

Method

In this meta-analysis and systematic review, we synthesized the findings of 31 studies (total n = 1133) which investigated the effect of slow-paced breathing on cardiovascular and emotion measures. PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycARTICLES electronic databases were searched up to August 1, 2023. Random-effect modelling was conducted to compute pooled effect size across studies.

Results

Slow-paced breathing showed significant immediate effects in reducing systolic blood pressure (Standardized Mean Difference or SMD = -0.45, 95% CI = [-0.86, -0.04], p < 0.01), increasing time-domain heart rate variability (the root-mean-square-of-successive-differences-between-normal-heartbeats, or RMSSD, SMD = 0.37, 95% CI = [0.16, 0.58], p < 0.01; Standard Deviation of NN Intervals, or SDNN, SMD = 0.77, 95% CI = [0.26, 1.28], p < 0.01), and decreasing heart rate (SMD = -0.10, 95% CI = [-0.19, -0.01], p < 0.05). The effect in reducing negative emotion, particularly perceived stress, was marginal (SMD = -0.51, 95% CI = [-1.06, 0.03], p = 0.06). Limited evidence indicated persistent reduction of blood pressure 3 months post-intervention among prehypertensive samples. Preliminary analysis showed moderate association of the physiological and emotion effects of slow-paced breathing.

Conclusions

Slow-paced breathing demonstrated reliable effects in inducing short-term improvements in cardiovascular functions, and modest effect in reducing negative emotions, but its long-term efficacy in improving cardiovascular functions remains to be established. Future studies should continue to investigate the interrelations among the multifaceted effects of slow-paced breathing.

Preregistration

This review was preregistered on PROSPERO (Ref No: CRD42023450175).

中文翻译：

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慢节奏呼吸对心血管和情绪功能的影响：荟萃分析和系统评价

摘要

目标

慢节奏呼吸需要有意识地将呼吸频率控制在接近心血管系统振荡频率的频率。越来越多的证据表明，慢节奏的呼吸可以改​​善心血管和情绪功能。然而，没有荟萃分析可以量化非临床人群研究中慢节奏呼吸的汇总效应。

方法

在这项荟萃分析和系统评价中，我们综合了 31 项研究（总计n  = 1133）的结果，这些研究调查了慢节奏呼吸对心血管和情绪指标的影响。PsycINFO、PubMed、Web of Science 和 PsycARTICLES 电子数据库的检索时间截至 2023 年 8 月 1 日。采用随机效应模型来计算跨研究的汇总效应大小。

结果

慢节奏呼吸在降低收缩压（标准化均差或SMD  = -0.45，95% CI  = [-0.86，-0.04]，p  < 0.01）、增加时域心率变异性（根）方面显示出显着的直接效果。 -正常心跳间连续差异均方，或 RMSSD，SMD  = 0.37，95% CI  = [0.16, 0.58]，p  < 0.01；NN 间隔的标准差，或 SDNN，SMD  = 0.77 ，95% CI  = [0.26, 1.28]，p  < 0.01），心率降低（SMD  = -0.10，95% CI  = [-0.19, -0.01]，p  < 0.05）。减少负面情绪（尤其是感知压力）的效果微乎其微（SMD  = -0.51，95% CI  = [-1.06, 0.03]，p  = 0.06）。有限的证据表明，高血压前期样本在干预后 3 个月血压持续下降。初步分析显示，慢节奏呼吸对生理和情绪的影响之间存在中度关联。

结论

慢节奏呼吸在诱导心血管功能的短期改善方面表现出可靠的效果，在减少负面情绪方面也有一定的效果，但其改善心血管功能的长期功效仍有待确定。未来的研究应该继续调查慢节奏呼吸的多方面影响之间的相互关系。

预登记

这篇评论已在 PROSPERO 上预注册（参考号：CRD42023450175）。