Effect of the Buteyko Breathing Technique on Quality of Life Among Adults With Asthma: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Damon Wicaksi* -  Universitas Bondowoso, Indonesia
Arif Eko Trilianto -  Dinas Kesehatan Kabupaten Probolinggo, Indonesia
Siska Puspitasari -  Universitasi Nurul Jadid, Indonesia

Background:  Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that can reduce physical function, psychological well-being, social participation, and overall quality of life. In addition to pharmacological therapy, non-pharmacological interventions such as breathing exercises may support asthma self-management. The Buteyko breathing technique is a simple breathing retraining method that may help improve breathing control and quality of life among people with asthma.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effect of the Buteyko breathing technique on quality of life among adults with asthma in Desa Suling Wetan, Kecamatan Cermee, Kabupaten Bondowoso.

Methods: This study used a quantitative quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest control group approach. A total of 20 adults with asthma were selected using purposive sampling and divided into an intervention group and a control group, with 10 respondents in each group. The intervention group received the Buteyko breathing technique, while the control group did not receive the intervention. Quality of life was measured using a questionnaire, and data were analysed using the Mann–Whitney U test.

Results: The mean quality of life score was higher in the intervention group after receiving the Buteyko breathing technique than in the control group, with mean scores of 63.10 and 52.60, respectively. The intervention group also had a higher mean rank than the control group, with mean ranks of 13.35 and 7.65, respectively. The Mann–Whitney U test showed a significant difference in quality of life between the two groups (Z = -2.159; p = 0.031).

Conclusion: The Buteyko breathing technique had a significant effect on improving quality of life among adults with asthma. This technique may be considered a simple, low-cost, and non-invasive complementary nursing intervention to support asthma self-management in community settings.

Keywords : Asthma; Buteyko Breathing Technique; Breathing Exercise; Community Nursing; Quality Of Life; Self-Management

  1. Apfelbacher, C. J., Jones, C., Hankins, M., & Smith, H. (2012). Validity of two common asthma-specific quality of life questionnaires: Juniper mini asthma quality of life questionnaire and Sydney asthma quality of life questionnaire. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 10, 97. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-10-97
  2. Badan Kebijakan Pembangunan Kesehatan. (2023). Survei Kesehatan Indonesia (SKI) 2023 dalam angka. Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia. https://www.badankebijakan.kemkes.go.id/ski-2023-dalam-angka/
  3. Bowler, S. D., Green, A., & Mitchell, C. A. (1998). Buteyko breathing techniques in asthma: a blinded randomised controlled trial. The Medical Journal of Australia, 169(11–12), 575–578. https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.1998.tb123422.x
  4. Bruton, A., & Lewith, G. T. (2005). The Buteyko breathing technique for asthma: a review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 13(1), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2005.01.003
  5. Burge, A. T., Gadowski, A. M., Jones, A., Romero, L., Smallwood, N. E., Ekström, M., Reinke, L. F., Saggu, R., Wijsenbeek, M., & Holland, A. E. (2024). Breathing techniques to reduce symptoms in people with serious respiratory illness: a systematic review. European Respiratory Review : An Official Journal of the European Respiratory Society, 33(174). https://doi.org/10.1183/16000617.0012-2024
  6. Burgess, J., Ekanayake, B., Lowe, A., Dunt, D., Thien, F., & Dharmage, S. C. (2011). Systematic review of the effectiveness of breathing retraining in asthma management. Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine, 5(6), 789–807. https://doi.org/10.1586/ers.11.69
  7. Cloutier, M. M., Baptist, A. P., Blake, K. V, Brooks, E. G., Bryant-Stephens, T., DiMango, E., Dixon, A. E., Elward, K. S., Hartert, T., Krishnan, J. A., Lemanske, R. F. J., Ouellette, D. R., Pace, W. D., Schatz, M., Skolnik, N. S., Stout, J. W., Teach, S. J., Umscheid, C. A., & Walsh, C. G. (2020). 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines: A Report from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee Expert Panel Working Group. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 146(6), 1217–1270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2020.10.003
  8. Cooper, S., Oborne, J., Newton, S., Harrison, V., Thompson Coon, J., Lewis, S., & Tattersfield, A. (2003). Effect of two breathing exercises (Buteyko and pranayama) in asthma: a randomised controlled trial. Thorax, 58(8), 674–679. https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax.58.8.674
  9. GINA. (2026). Global Initiative for Asthma. (2026). Global strategy for asthma management and prevention. Global Initiative for Asthma. Global Initiative for Asthma. https://ginasthma.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/GINA-2026-Strategy-Report-WMS.pdf
  10. Harper, V., & Trayer, J. (2022). Breathing exercises for adults with asthma. In Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (Vol. 52, Issue 6, pp. 732–734). https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.14141
  11. Isfandari, S., Tuminah, S., & Miharja, L. K. (2025). Asthma Exacerbation in Indonesia: Analysis of Mental, Socio-demographic, Behavioral, and Biological Risk Factors Using the 2018 Indonesian Basic Health Research. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 58(3), 250–259. https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.24.719
  12. Juniper, E. F., Buist, A. S., Cox, F. M., Ferrie, P. J., & King, D. R. (1999). Validation of a standardized version of the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire. Chest, 115(5), 1265–1270. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.115.5.1265
  13. Juniper, E. F., Guyatt, G. H., Epstein, R. S., Ferrie, P. J., Jaeschke, R., & Hiller, T. K. (1992). Evaluation of impairment of health related quality of life in asthma: development of a questionnaire for use in clinical trials. Thorax, 47(2), 76–83. https://doi.org/10.1136/thx.47.2.76
  14. Kharaba, Z., Feghali, E., El Husseini, F., Sacre, H., Abou Selwan, C., Saadeh, S., Hallit, S., Jirjees, F., AlObaidi, H., Salameh, P., & Malaeb, D. (2022). An Assessment of Quality of Life in Patients With Asthma Through Physical, Emotional, Social, and Occupational Aspects. A Cross-Sectional Study. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 883784. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.883784
  15. Nisa, H. (2023). Obesity and Asthma Risk in Indonesian Adults: Findings from the 2018 Indonesia Basic Health Research. Kesmas: Jurnal Kesehatan Masyarakat Nasional, 18(1), 58. https://doi.org/10.21109/kesmas.v18i1.6608
  16. Opat, A. J., Cohen, M. M., Bailey, M. J., & Abramson, M. J. (2000). A clinical trial of the Buteyko Breathing Technique in asthma as taught by a video. The Journal of Asthma : Official Journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma, 37(7), 557–564. https://doi.org/10.3109/02770900009090810
  17. Papi, A., Brightling, C., Pedersen, S. E., & Reddel, H. K. (2018). Asthma. Lancet (London, England), 391(10122), 783–800. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)33311-1
  18. Prem, V., Sahoo, R. C., & Adhikari, P. (2013). Comparison of the effects of Buteyko and pranayama breathing techniques on quality of life in patients with asthma - a randomized controlled trial. Clinical Rehabilitation, 27(2), 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215512450521
  19. Santino, T. A., Chaves, G. S., Freitas, D. A., Fregonezi, G. A., & Mendonça, K. M. (2020). Breathing exercises for adults with asthma. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 3(3), CD001277. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001277.pub4
  20. Thomas, M., McKinley, R. K., Freeman, E., Foy, C., Prodger, P., & Price, D. (2003). Breathing retraining for dysfunctional breathing in asthma: a randomised controlled trial. Thorax, 58(2), 110–115. https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax.58.2.110
  21. Vagedes, K., Kuderer, S., Ehmann, R., Kohl, M., Wildhaber, J., Jörres, R. A., & Vagedes, J. (2024). Effect of Buteyko breathing technique on clinical and functional parameters in adult patients with asthma: a randomized, controlled study. European Journal of Medical Research, 29(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40001-023-01634-1
  22. Wang, Z., Li, Y., Gao, Y., Fu, Y., Lin, J., Lei, X., Zheng, J., & Jiang, M. (2023). Global, regional, and national burden of asthma and its attributable risk factors from 1990 to 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Respiratory Research, 24(1), 169. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-023-02475-6
  23. WHO. (2026). Asthma. Https://Www.Who.Int/. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/asthma
  24. Yuan, L., Tao, J., Wang, J., She, W., Zou, Y., Li, R., Ma, Y., Sun, C., Bi, S., Wei, S., Chen, H., Guo, X., Tian, H., Xu, J., Dong, Y., Ma, Y., Sun, H., Lv, W., Shang, Z., … Zhang, M. (2025). Global, regional, national burden of asthma from 1990 to 2021, with projections of incidence to 2050: a systematic analysis of the global burden of disease study 2021. EClinicalMedicine, 80, 103051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.103051

Open Access Copyright (c) 2026 Damon Wicaksi, Arif Eko Trilianto, Siska Puspitasari
Published by

Fakultas Kesehatan Universitas Nurul Jadid
Probolinggo, East Java