If pollens and air pollution are known triggers of asthma, did you know that hormonal changes in women – puberty, menstruation, pregnancy or menopause – can create asthmatic symptoms or cause potentially life-threatening seizures? According to the association Asthma + Lung UK, more than two thirds of deaths due to asthma would concern women UK.
Between 2014 and 2020, more than 5,100 women died of an asthma attack in the UK, compared to less than 2,300 men. That’s almost double. While the role of hormones in asthma in women is not yet known, the organization suggests it could be because they increase inflammation in the body and affect the airways. “Female Hormones May Be an Asthma Trigger full fledgedsays Dr. Andy Whittamore on the association’s website. But they can also make you more susceptible to other triggers like hay fever or the flu..”
At the time of childhood, asthma is more common and more severe in young boys. It is after puberty that the situation is reversed. According to figures put forward by the association between 2014 and 2020, women aged 20 to 49 had 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized than boys.
Inequalities in research
Asthma + Lung UK also laments that the current “one size fits all” approach proposed to treat women “is not working”. It would not take into account the impact of female sex hormones during puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. “When it comes to research funding, women with asthma have drawn the short straw. Gaps in our knowledge are failing women, leaving them struggling with debilitating asthma symptoms, stuck in a cycle of hospitalization and discharge, and in some cases losing their lives“said Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of Asthma + Lung UK.
Consequently, the association wants to fight against “glaring inequalities in health” and calls on general practitioners to become aware of the triggering factors with their patients as well as to put in place a personalized approach according to the patient. It also calls on the patient to take responsibility, first by scrupulously following his preventive treatment and above all by make a check-up once a year with the doctor, in order to check the effectiveness of the treatment.
“By understanding the role of sex hormones in asthma, we could transform the lives of the 3 million women with the disease in the UK and millions of women with asthma worldwide. We urgently need to see more investment in research in this area so that we can find new treatments and better use existing treatments to help millions of women and save lives.“, ends Sarah Woolnough.
Source :
- female hormonesAsthma + Lung UK, April 2022
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