Breath-Holding Maneuvers and Airway Closure in Healthy Adults and Parkinson's Disease: Effects of Maneuver Type, Health Status, and Vocal Fold Bowing.
James A Curtis, Alexandra B Beam, Jina Nam and 1 others
PMID 41396968WHAT IT FOUND
Hard breath-holds achieved complete airway closure far more often than light ones in both healthy adults and people with Parkinson's.
Light holds failed to close the airway in nearly half of participants, suggesting clinicians should verify closure visually rather than assume it.
Key findings
01Hard breath-holding maneuvers resulted in significantly more complete glottic and supraglottic airway closure compared to light breath-holding maneuvers across all participants.
02There was no significant difference in the rate of incomplete airway closure between healthy adults and people with Parkinson's disease during either light or hard breath-holds.
03Vocal fold bowing was associated with reduced glottic closure during light breath-holds but not during hard breath-holds.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study only looked at people with early-to-mid stage Parkinson's disease, so it does not tell us what happens in advanced stages. The breath-holds lasted only 3 seconds and were not performed during an actual swallow, which may not reflect real-world eating conditions. The healthy and Parkinson's groups were very different ages (mean difference of 22 years), though the authors state this did not affect the results. When supraglottic structures closed and blocked the view of the vocal folds, researchers assumed the vocal folds were also closed, which may have overestimated glottic closure.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Parkinson's Foundation, the American Brain Foundation, and the American Academy of Neurology.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that hard breath-holds are safe for all patients. While they closed the airway more often in this study, they were not tested during actual swallowing and may have other physiological costs. The study proves light breath-holds are unreliable, not that hard breath-holds are the solution without assessment.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →