Effect of Breathing Exercises on Quality of Life and Fatigue in Patients with COVID-19: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study

Abdollahi, Golrokh; Nejati, Soraya; Ardestani, Fatemeh; Salehpoor-Emran, Mohammad; Kordbagheri, Mohammadreza; Rasti, Arezoo

doi:10.22034/rspr.2026.25.1.1453

Effect of Breathing Exercises on Quality of Life and Fatigue in Patients with COVID-19: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Golrokh Abdollahi ¹

Soraya Nejati ¹

Fatemeh Ardestani ¹

Mohammad Salehpoor-Emran ²

Mohammadreza Kordbagheri ³

Arezoo Rasti ⁴

¹ Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

² Department of Nursing, Amol School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

³ Department of Statistics, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

⁴ Depart‌ment of Medical-Surgical Nursing and Basic Sciences, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/rspr.2026.25.1.1453

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 survivors face the risk of long-term COVID-19 complications, including fatigue and a reduction in quality of life. Breathing exercises can improve the manifestation of patients with respiratory diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of breathing exercises on quality of life and fatigue in patients with COVID-19.
Materials and Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 72 patients who had recovered from the hospital in Tehran. Patients were divided into intervention and control groups using block randomization. Patients in the intervention group received breathing exercise training, including diaphragmatic and pursed-lip breathing, and the control group did not receive any educational program. The socio-demographic form, quality-of-life questionnaire, and fatigue severity scale were used to collect data. Data were collected by two groups before and after 6 weeks and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS V20 at a significance level of P<0.05.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference in mean quality-of-life scores between the two groups (P=0.49) and in fatigue severity (P=0.75) before the intervention. After breathing exercises, the mean scores for fatigue (20.30±1.48 vs. 21.91±1.79) and quality of life (70.80±7.40 vs. 22.32±6.33) were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group.
Conclusion: The current study indicates that breathing exercises can reduce COVID-19 complications, including fatigue, and improve the quality of life of patients recovered from COVID-19. It is suggested that health policymakers consider incorporating breathing exercises into a conventional educational program for the home care of patients with COVID-19.

Keywords

Breathing Exercises

Quality of Life

Fatigue

COVID-19

Subjects