Menopausal Women at an Increased Risk for Asthma Hospitalization

Menopausal women with asthma are hospitalized more than twice as often as men of the same age group, according to the new finding.

Asthma affects a person's lungs causing multiple episodes of wheezing and breathlessness, chest congestion and early morning coughing. About 1 in 12 people suffer from asthma and this number keeps increasing every year. The number of people diagnosed with asthma grew by 4.3 million from 2001 to 2009.

The new 10-year study states that compared to men of ages 40-50, women of the same age with asthma are twice more likely to be hospitalized.  The study was published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

"Until puberty, boys have higher rates of asthma than girls," said Robert Yao-wen Lin, MD, allergist and lead study author. "Then, during the menopausal years, women's hospitalization rates are double those of men in the same age group. This could indicate that asthma may have distinct biological traits."

The researchers calculated the ratio of female to male hospitalization rates for various decades of adult life using the National Impatient Sample databases for 2000-2010.  On analyzing the data, the researchers noticed a great difference in the hospitalization rate during the fifth and six decade. The study considered certain factors like cigarette smoking and obesity.

"This study reinforces that asthma is a women's health issue," John Oppenheimer, MD, ACAAI Fellow and associate editor of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, said in a statement. "There is a need for more prevention and early intervention to reduce asthma hospitalization in menopausal women and reduce healthcare costs."

Through this study ACAAI states that menopausal women should enquire with their allergist whether they need a change in their medication. They should also have a sound knowledge about the symptoms of severe asthma attack during menopause and how to control asthma thereby avoiding the need for hospitalization.