Why Sex Hormones Can Help (or Hurt) Your Asthma

 
Developmental changes like puberty and menopause can impact symptom severity
If you have severe asthma you probably rely on inhalers or medicine to open your airways so you can breathe on a fairly regular basis. Youre also no stranger to the doctors office or for severe attacks the emergency room.
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And if you were assigned female at birth AFAB youre more likely to find yourself in this situation.

Females are hospitalized for asthma twice as frequently as males and their mortality is twice as high says pulmonologist Neha Solanki MD.
Could sex hormones which rise and fall throughout our lives be the reason?
Research shows that lung function is affected when
Estrogen levels are higher which happens after puberty for females Testosterone levels are lower which happens before puberty for males.
The evidence linking the sex hormones to asthma continues to grow Dr. Solanki states. She breaks down the research we have to date on this topic and what it could mean for your treatment options.  
Asthma through the years
Asthma is a curious illness. The statistics around prevalence severity and hospitalizations jump back and forth based on age.
Up to age 14 males are more likely to need office and ER visits as well as hospitalization for asthma Dr. Solanki notes. But asthma prevalence severity and hospitalizations are greater for older females especially those 40 to 60 years of age.
Estrogen levels start falling after menopause. The research suggests menopause may actually protect against severe asthma she adds.
Cue another role reversal. Males tend to bear the brunt of their asthma later in life probably because their testosterone levels decline with age.
Can hormones affect your breathing?
The current research strongly suggests that sex hormones affect asthma Dr. Solanki reiterates. But how exactly they affect the lungs is still poorly understood.
One theory is that sex hormones affect the pace at which hairlike cilia clear mucus out of the airways.
Dr. Solanki underscores that Until the exact mechanism is identified the research suggests that doctors should consider factors