Researchers at the University Clinic for Psychiatry in Wein, Austria looked at the role that autogenic training could play in the long-term treatment of patients with chronic respiratory diseases. Stress and anxiety are known to augment symptoms of asthma and other respiratory diseases and the researchers were therefore interested in verifying whether relaxation training programs may have a beneficial physiological land emotional effect on patients.

49 patients between the ages of 34 and 67 (average age of 50) participated in the relaxation group (22 male, 27 female) and were matched against a control group made up of 37 patients with chronic respiratory diseases (17 male, 20 female) who had received asthma education, but no further therapeutic intervention. Prior to and immediately after the autogenic training, measurements were taken of the patients’ lung function, anxiety levels (Spielberger anxiety scale), symptoms (Giessen list of complains), and each patient completed a questionnaire giving details of how they were coping with their illness.

Significant improvements were observed in the autogenic group compared with the control group including a decrease in fear/anxiety, alleviation of asthma symptoms and asthma attacks, a decrease in sleep disturbances and in morning coughing, a reduction in the required quantities of controlled-dosage aerosol. The autogenic group also tended to have a more positive approach to their diseases and greater confidence in coping with their symptoms.