United States: According to a new study, women who go through menopause at a later age are more likely to develop asthma than others.
On the other hand, the researchers linked premature ovarian failure to a decreased asthma risk among women.
The findings are contrary to other studies showing that early menopause of ages 40 to 44 is worse for women’s health and may lead to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and depression, said the researchers.
As reported by the HealthDay, It also found more clues about the connection between female hormones and asthma, with a team from York University in Toronto led by Durmalouk Kesibi.
Asthma that starts in childhood affects boys more than girls but adults have more asthma than men. Women also get sicker with their asthma and are less likely to experience remission according to the study done by researchers.
“As put forward by the current study on sex-related disparities in asthma, women are at an even higher vulnerability for asthma than men in later life,” said Dr. Stephanie Faubion, the medical director of The Menopause Society.
“It also revealed that women with later onset of menopause are more at risk than those who have early onset of menopause,” said Faubion, also in the society news release. Both clinicians and researchers should be aware of this association, the latter recommending that clinicians watch for asthma symptoms in women who experienced natural menopause later in life.
In preparing for this study, the authors analyzed records for 14,500 postmenopausal women and a follow-up period of 10 years.
Authors also observed that both natural estrogen and synthetic estrogen elevate asthma risk, commented the researchers.
Current hormone therapy users are 63 per cent more likely to develop asthma and those who have stopped hormone therapy are twice as likely to discontinue asthma treatment, researchers added
For women, a higher BMI is also considered an asthma risk factor because fat gives off estrogen, the researchers explained.