Cohort study, 1997
Does estrogen reduce asthma symptoms before a period?
Yes, in 14 women with asthma, extra estrogen significantly improved asthma symptoms and breathing difficulty. However, this is very preliminary evidence from a tiny study with no control group.
What they did
In an open-label 9-week study, 14 women with mild to moderate asthma (17 enrolled, 14 completed) tracked daily asthma symptoms and breathing measurements throughout their menstrual cycle. The researchers also measured peak flow, hormone levels, and immune cell markers. During the study, women were given supplemental estradiol to see if it affected their asthma.
What they found
All 14 women had at least a 20% drop in peak flow or increase in asthma symptoms premenstrually during baseline observations. When given estradiol, asthma symptoms and dyspnea index scores improved significantly (p<0.05) compared with baseline. Changes in the body's response to asthma medication and hormone levels were not significantly altered, though there was a trend toward improvement in breathing tests (0.05 < p < 0.2).
What it means for you
Extra estrogen may help asthma that worsens before your period, but this is a tiny study so we cannot be confident in the result. The mechanism is unclear because the improvement was not explained by changes in asthma medication response. Much larger and controlled studies are needed before considering estrogen treatment for premenstrual asthma.
14
women completed study
9 weeks
study duration
>20%
decrease in peak flow premenstrually
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual Asthma: The Effect of Estrogen on Symptoms, Pulmonary Function, and β2‐Receptors
- Authors
- Mary H.H. Chandler, S Schuldheisz, Barbara A. Phillips et al.
- Journal
- Pharmacotherapy The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy
- Year
- 1997
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 5
- What was tested
- Supplemental estradiol administration throughout the 9-week study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1002/j.1875-9114.1997.tb03703.x
Topics
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