{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T19:19:23Z","timestamp":1790623163121,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]],"date-time":"2025-12-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765238400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Anxiety disorders represent highly prevalent mental health conditions globally (lifetime prevalence: ~7\u201314%). Current pharmacological treatments carry risks of dependence and metabolic side effects, while psychological therapies face accessibility limitations. There is an urgent need to develop safe, accessible non-pharmacological interventions. This single-blind randomized controlled trial systematically evaluated the efficacy and sustainability of an 8-week standardized abdominal breathing training program in alleviating anxiety symptoms and modulating autonomic nervous function in patients with anxiety disorders.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 120 outpatient participants (aged 18\u201365\u202fyears) meeting ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (abdominal breathing training,\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f60) or a control group (treatment-as-usual,\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f60). The intervention group received professionally supervised training consisting of 3\u20134 daily sessions of 10\u201315\u202fmin each (inhale:exhale ratio\u202f=\u202f1:2; inhalation 3\u20135\u202fs\/exhalation 5\u20137\u202fs). Adherence was monitored via respiratory sensors (mean adherence rate: 92.4%). Assessments using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and physiological measurements\u2014including heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), blood pressure (BP), and heart rate variability (HRV-LF\/HF ratio)\u2014were conducted at baseline, post-intervention (8\u202fweeks), and at 4-week follow-up (intervention group only).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:italic>Anxiety symptom improvement<\/jats:italic>\n                      : Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant group \u00d7 time interaction effect on SAS scores (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05). Post-intervention, the intervention group exhibited a significant reduction in SAS scores compared to baseline (67.57\u202f\u00b1\u202f8.88 vs. 71.80\u202f\u00b1\u202f3.99,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001), reflecting a 5.9% decrease, and scores were significantly lower than the control group (70.43\u202f\u00b1\u202f4.33,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.027). At 4-week follow-up, despite a slight rebound, SAS scores in the intervention group remained significantly below baseline (68.57\u202f\u00b1\u202f8.11,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05).\n                      <jats:italic>Physiological optimization<\/jats:italic>\n                      : For physiological indicators, significant group \u00d7 time interaction effects were observed (all\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05). Post-intervention, the intervention group showed significant reductions in heart rate (77.08\u202f\u00b1\u202f10.30 vs. 83.37\u202f\u00b1\u202f9.67\u202fbpm), respiratory rate (17.37\u202f\u00b1\u202f1.78 vs. 18.60\u202f\u00b1\u202f1.83 breaths\/min), systolic blood pressure (114.12\u202f\u00b1\u202f11.97 vs. 122.63\u202f\u00b1\u202f12.18\u202fmmHg), and diastolic blood pressure (74.40\u202f\u00b1\u202f6.75 vs. 80.28\u202f\u00b1\u202f7.58\u202fmmHg) (all\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05). Concurrently, the HRV-LF\/HF ratio increased significantly (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.008).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Standardized abdominal breathing training significantly alleviates anxiety symptoms (effect size Cohen\u2019s d\u202f=\u202f0.61) and induces sustained physiological improvements in autonomic regulation (effects maintained 4\u202fweeks post-intervention). As a cost-free, non-pharmacological intervention devoid of adverse effects, it provides an effective adjunctive treatment option for anxiety disorders, particularly benefiting medically underserved populations and individuals with medication intolerance, suggesting significant clinical potential.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1695622","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]],"date-time":"2025-12-09T05:13:27Z","timestamp":1765257207000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Clinical application of abdominal breathing training and evaluation of physical and mental benefits in anxiety patients"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Jiajin","family":"Chai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shikun","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiayuan","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ting","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kunyang","family":"Ou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xichen","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kaicheng","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shouping","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2363","DOI":"10.1017\/s0033291713003243","article-title":"The global burden of anxiety disorders in 2010","volume":"44","author":"Baxter","year":"2014","journal-title":"Psychol. 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