Breathing-Practice Status and Psychological Outcomes 12 Months After a Structured Program in University Students

Evidence regarding long-term breathing-practice maintenance and associated psychological outcomes remains limited. This observational longitudinal follow-up examined psychological outcomes and self-reported breathing-practice status 12 months after a structured program in university students. Thirty-four students from the intervention group of a 14-week breathing study were assessed immediately after the program (T1) and at the 12-month follow-up (T2). At T2, 18 reported occasional or regular practice, and 16 reported no or rare practice. All 13 psychological outcomes were included in the longitudinal analyses. For each outcome, the T2 score was regressed on the corresponding T1 score and T2 practice group using HC3 robust standard errors. Benjamini-Hochberg correction was applied across all 13 outcomes. Compared with the no/rare-practice group, the ongoing-practice group had more favorable T2 scores for subjective happiness, general happiness, positive affect, sleep quality, all six dimensions of psychological well-being, and life satisfaction after adjustment for the corresponding T1 scores; all q < 0.001. However, the ongoing-practice group also had higher worry scores (adjusted difference 4.52, 95% CI 1.44 to 7.60; q = 0.006). Negative affect did not differ between groups (-0.50, 95% CI -3.51 to 2.50; q = 0.735). Sensitivity analyses produced the same pattern. Ongoing breathing practice was associated with several favorable psychological outcomes at 12 months, but also with higher worry scores and no difference in negative affect. Because practice status was self-selected and measured concurrently with the outcomes, these findings are associative rather than causal and may be influenced by common-method bias, recall bias, and social-desirability bias.