Sex Hormones and Asthma

• Published in: American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine Vol. 201; no. 2; pp. 127 - 128
• Main Author: Holguin, Fernando
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Thoracic Society 15.01.2020
• Subjects: Adult; Asthma; Gonadal Steroid Hormones; Hormones; Humans; Testosterone; Women
• ISSN: 1073-449X; 1535-4970; 1535-4970
• DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201910-1923ED

Holguin discusses the study by Han and colleagues on the association between serum estradiol and serum free testosterone levels with self-referred current asthma diagnosis in men and women participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This cross-sectional analysis of 7,615 adults shows that women with higher serum testosterone levels have between 30% and 44% lower odds of current asthma when compared with the women with the lowest testosterone levels. Given the significant interaction found between obesity and sex hormones on asthma, the authors showed in the fully adjusted model that in obese women, higher serum estradiol and serum free testosterone were, respectively, associated with a 40% and a 40-50% reduction in the odds of current asthma. The associations in men were less impressive, as only the highest serum estradiol quartile, relative to the lowest, was associated with reduced asthma odds in nonobese subjects.