I believe that my asthma has got worse since the menopause but my GP and hospital doctors don't believe there is a connection. I have just read an article on this site that states there could be a connection. Is there anybody out there who is in the same situation and feels that there asthma has deteriorated since the menopause?
Carla
Hi Carla
I didn't start with asthma until I became menopausal, about four year ago. I'v also developed arthritis and Sjogren's Syndrome within the last year or so. I think there is a definite hormonal link.
Kathyx
I've started to get asthma while going through the menopause. I found some information suggesting that there is a connection, but sadly not anything about how to avoid it!
I'd like to see some longer term data, to get an idea of whether it's a particular problem around the time of menopause, that might get better later on, or if it's likely to stay.
I've always suffered from allergic rhinitis, and that started to get worse a couple of years ahead of the asthma appearing.
This is from the abstract on the research I found:
RESULTS: Women not menstruating for the last 6 months (n = 432, 34%) had significantly lower FEV(1) values (-120 mL [95% CI, -177 to -63]), lower forced vital capacity values (-115 mL [95% CI, -181 to -50]), and more respiratory symptoms (odds ratio [OR], 1.82 [95% CI, 1.27-2.61]) than those menstruating regularly. Results were similar when restricting analyses to those who never smoked. Associations were significantly stronger in women with BMIs of less than 23 kg/m(2) (respiratory symptoms: OR, 4.07 [95% CI, 1.88-8.80]; FEV(1) adjusted difference: -166 [95% CI, -263 to -70]) than in women with BMIs of 23 to 28 kg/m(2) (respiratory symptoms: OR, 1.10 [95% CI, 0.61-1.97], P(interaction): .04; FEV(1) adjusted difference, -54 [95% CI, -151 to 43], P(interaction) = .06).
CONCLUSIONS: Menopause is associated with lower lung function and more respiratory symptoms, especially among lean women.
This is the reference, if anyone's interested.
J Allergy Clin Immunol.39 2008 Jan;121(1):72-80.e3. Epub 2007 Oct 29.
Lung function, respiratory symptoms, and the menopausal transition.
Real FG42, Svanes C43, Omenaas ER44, Antò JM45, Plana E46, Jarvis D47, Janson C48, Neukirch F49, Zemp E50, Dratva J51, Wjst M52, Svanes K53, Leynaert B54, Sunyer J55.
menopause and asthma
I didn't have asthma, hay fever, or eczema till I started to get them all from the age of 40. It turned out I was going through an early menopause and by the age of 42 started HRT; and had all the ectopic conditions. My grandmother went through exactly the same thing, so I definitely think that asthma and menopause are very much linked.
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