Top ten research priorities for breathlessness research: UK James Lind Alliance priority setting partnership

Breathlessness is a substantial global transdiagnostic problem and the most common symptom for people of all ages living with chronic respiratory disease. The prevalence of breathlessness is increasing due to an ageing population, multimorbidity, and post-COVID-19 condition.1,2 The symptom of breathlessness is worsened by social deprivation, environmental factors, health-care inequalities and the inverse care law, whereby people who most need health care are least likely to receive it, and is associated with premature mortality.3 Living with chronic breathlessness can greatly impair a person's quality of life and that of their family, friends, and caregivers. The significant patient need is reflected in high health-care costs, with breathlessness being responsible for more than a fifth of all emergency hospital attendances,4 but also high social costs and informal care costs.5 Historically, respiratory research priorities have focused on diagnosis-specific approaches, but the global burden of breathlessness highlights the need to take a symptom-focused approach, as has been successfully adopted for pain management.