Psychometric correlates of respiration: a review

It appears that substantial differences exist in the ventilatory response of individuals to various stressors such as exercise and high levels of CO2 in the inspired air. Both these stresses are commonly experienced by workers in various settings, and both hyperventilation and hypoventilation are capable of provoking a chain of events that conceivably could have catastrophic results for the man or woman working in extreme environments. A portion of the exaggerated responsiveness of some individuals to exercise or CO2 is associated with psychopathology. Anxiety neurosis, or neurocirculatory aesthenia, depression and extroversion all have been demonstrated to be associated with ventilatory abnormalities. All these psychometric variables have been found to be significantly correlated with perception of effort and, therefore, it is conceivable that ventilatory responses to exercise and CO2 are mediated by perception. Furthermore, the psychometric variables examined in this paper are primarily of a trait or enduring nature rather than a state or situational response. It is concluded that ventilatory response to exercise and CO2 is influenced in part by psychopathology, and ventilatory disturbances can be consistently provoked in certain "types" of individuals in both neutral and extreme environments. It appears that individuals who are classified as "hyperventilators" may represent a clinical subgroup of the general population who might be especially susceptible to problems associated with respirator wear. The hyperventilation syndrome is dealt with in a separate review.