Female hormones may be linked to asthma – new major review of evidence
A systematic review carried out by researchers at the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research highlights a link between asthma symptoms in women and fluctuations in female sex hormones.
Dr Nicola McCleary, who led the study at the University of Edinburgh, said:
“Asthma and allergy symptoms are often affected by life events such as puberty and menopause, but the reasons behind this are unclear.”
The researchers reviewed over 50 studies involving more than 500,000 women. The age of onset of the menstrual cycle, as well as irregular cycles, was associated with a higher rate of asthma. Onset of menopause was also associated with a higher chance of having asthma.
Scientists say the link between asthma and hormonal drugs including HRT and contraceptives is unclear and women should continue to take medications as prescribed by their GP.
Further investigation could help explain why asthma is more common in boys than girls in childhood, but more common in teenage girls and women following puberty.
Links
Read the paper in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Read the University of Edinburgh press release
Cite this paper
Endogenous and exogenous sex steroid hormones in asthma and allergy in females: a systematic review and meta-analysis. McCleary N, Nwaru BI, Nurmatov UB, Critchley H, Sheikh A. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2018 Jan 2. pii: S0091-6749(17)33009-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.11.034. PubMed PMID: 29305316.