Breathlessness in the general population

Breathlessness is a prevalent symptom that significantly affects physical and mental health. While commonly associated with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, breathlessness is increasingly recognised as a concern in the general population. This review summarises recent research on the prevalence, risk factors, assessment methods, and clinical and societal impact, with a focus on findings from the past 18 months.

Recent studies indicate that breathlessness affects a substantial proportion of adults worldwide, with prevalence varying across populations and regions. Identified risk factors include older age, female sex, high body mass index, smoking, and comorbidities such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Novel approaches in assessing breathlessness are looking beyond unidimensional scales to improve diagnostic accuracy. However, breathlessness remains underdiagnosed in clinical practice. Recent publications also show that breathlessness has a substantial impact on health outcomes of the affected person, but also imposes a burden on their informal caregivers, health care systems and the economy.

Despite progress in understanding chronic breathlessness, knowledge gaps persist, particularly regarding its assessment in large-population samples. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand risk factors for breathlessness and its impact on health outcomes and society.