Correlation of Prolonged Sitting Hours with Breathing Pattern Disorders in Collegiates

This study focuses on the effects of prolonged sitting hours and breathing pattern disorders (BPD) among college students. Young adults allocate excessive time to studying, viewing television, and engaging in video gaming, which adversely affects their health. Suboptimal posture in college may lead to back pain, diminished lung capacity, compromised core strength and stability, increased stress, diminished self-esteem, and a reduced quality of life.

The study included 366 SRM IST, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India students (224 female and 142 male). Students were informed and consented to the study. There were no respiratory, back, or neurological issues reported by students. 33 people were disqualified because they were under 18 or over 25. The mean ± SD of 330 participants (196 female, 134 male) was: 164.40 ± 10.92 cm tall, 61.56 ± 13.83 kg weight, and 22.76 ± 4.61 BMI. Group A had 2-4 hours of sitting per day (average), Group B: 5-7 hours, Group C: 8-10 hours, Group D: 11-13 hours, Group E: 14-16 hours, and Group F: more than 16 hours. They were administered the Nijmegen Questionnaire (NQ) and Self Evaluation of Breathing Questionnaire (SEBQ) to assess disordered breathing.

Prolonged sitting has weak correlation with NQ or SEBQ. Both datasets have 0.9 and 2.0 skewness. The two datasets have kurtosis of 0.6 and 5.5. Sitting duration did not affect NQ (r = 0.043; p = 0.436; Covariance = 1.424) or SEBQ (r = -0.045; p = 0.419; Covariance = -0.753).

Based on NQ (score of 23 or above) and SEBQ (score exceeding 11), only 46 and 84 participants were identified as exhibiting dysfunctional breathing in relation with prolonged sitting, respectively. The data indicates that females are more susceptible to developing respiratory dysfunction than males.

Our research indicates that prolonged sitting can adversely affect respiratory function and result in breathing difficulties. We must investigate the beneficial impacts of regular exercise on the cardiovascular and pulmonary health of college students. This may assist them in maintaining long-term health and enhancing their overall quality of life. Limitation of the study is the use subjective tools (NQ & SEBQ) to evaluate Breathing dysfunction.