Find An Allergist / Immunologist | Pollen Counts | Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology | Annual Meeting
Site Map Contact
Home
![]()
Members Menstrual irregularity and asthma
Francisco Gómez Real, MD, Cecilie Svanes, MD, PhD, Ernst Reidar Omenaas, MD, PhD, Josep Maria Antň, MD, PhD, Estel Plana, MS, Christer Janson, MD, PhD, Deborah Jarvis, MD, Elisabeth Zemp, MD, PhDh, Matthias Wjst, MD, PhD, Bénédicte Leynaert, MSc, PhD, Jordi Sunyer, MD, PhD
We have known that sex hormones play an important role in airway pathology in asthmatic women, but the mystery of why that should be so remains. There have been some intriguing clues: women with asthma may have abnormal sex hormone levels, and use of asthma medication is more common in women with infertility. Obesity is related to higher risk for asthma and lower lung function. Subjects with low physical activity have showed (would "have shown" be better?) higher bronchial responsiveness . Moreover, some evidence has been provided that reduced lung function may be associated with increased insulin resistance . In the September 2007 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Real and colleagues suggest a common thread uniting these apparently unrelated conditions: insulin resistance is related to abnormal sex hormones levels, infertility, low physical activity, and increased body mass index (BMI).
The aim of the Real study was to investigate whether menstrual irregularity, or oligomenorrhea, is associated with lung function and asthma, and further to investigate whether potential associations are modified by BMI and physical activity. The researchers found that oligomenorrhea was associated with lower FVC and increased prevalence of asthma. These associations were independent and in addition to the associations of asthma and lung function with obesity and low physical activity. The study also found oligomenorrhea, obesity, and low physical activity to each be related to insulin resistance.
The authors' findings suggest that airways pathology in women may have not only a hormonal but also a metabolic component. The clinical implications of these findings are, first, that women with oligomenorrhea and other symptoms of metabolic disturbance should be investigated (would "tested" be better?) with regard to respiratory health, and second, that the possibility for underlying metabolic disturbance should be considered in subjects (would "patients" be better?) with asthma or impaired lung function. The presented findings may imply that not only dietary and lifestyle intervention, but also insulin sensitizing agents may in the future contribute to improve respiratory health in people with insulin resistance.
© 1996-2008 · All Rights Reserved · American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology