Could hormone balance help women with asthma?

Reported September 02, 2008

Between puberty and menopause, more women than men have asthma, and their asthma attacks tend to be more severe. It’s estimated that 30 to 40 percent of women with asthma have symptoms worsen premenstrually

It’s clear from research that a steep drop in progesterone towards the end of the menstrual cycle can be a trigger for asthma attacks, but the research has been confused by women who use birth control pills and hormone replacement therapies (HRT) that contain synthetic progestins such as Provera, which can make asthma worse. Progesterone and progestins have very different effects on the body.

Low progesterone levels are one culprit in womens’ asthma, but combine that with estrogen replacement and you have estrogen dominance, which can aggravate symptoms even more. A large 2004 Harvard study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that postmenopausal women using estrogen replacement were more than twice as likely to develop asthma than similar women not taking the hormone. The results were similar for women taking estrogen and a progestin, or estrogen alone.

A 2009 study from Norway (Macsali, J Allergy Clin Immunol) found that women from 25 to 44 years old who used oral contraceptives (OCs) were nearly 50 percent more likely to have asthma than women who didn’t use them. The findings applied to women who were of normal weight or overweight, but not lean women. Most oral contraceptives contain synthetic estrogens and progestins, which suppress normal production of hormones in the ovaries. The synthetic hormones have different effects on the body than the natural hormones made by the ovaries.

The bottom line is that our hormones work in concert, and it’s well worth working towards hormone balance to help control asthma.

Never stop using asthma medications suddenly—work with your doctor.

Source : Examiner.com