Cohort study, 2020
How common is worsening asthma around the menstrual cycle in women with AERD?
24% of women with AERD reported menstrual asthma, meaning their asthma symptoms worsened around their period. This finding is reasonably reliable from a survey-based study.
What they did
Researchers surveyed 322 women with AERD (aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease, a severe respiratory condition triggered by certain pain relievers) about whether menstruation triggered asthma symptoms.
What they found
74 women (24%) reported asthma worsened around menstruation. Women with menstrual asthma were more likely to have AERD start at a younger age, to have concurrent sinus symptoms around their period, to visit the emergency department for asthma more often, and to notice changes in symptom severity at menopause.
What it means for you
Many women with AERD experience worsening asthma around their period, likely because hormones affect their airways. Doctors should discuss this with patients. The study looked only at women who already had AERD, so we cannot determine whether menstrual asthma increases AERD risk.
322
women surveyed
74
women with menstrual asthma
24%
prevalence of menstrual asthma
About the study
- Original title
- Perimenstrual Asthma in Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease
- Authors
- Eid RC, Palumbo ML, Cahill KN
- Journal
- The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice
- Year
- 2020
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 74
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2019.08.054