High estrogen/progestin levels may reduce severity.(of asthma)

2003 APR 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Progesterone and estrogen appear to have a positive effect on lung function and reduce the symptoms of asthma, according to a report published by University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH).

"We found that women's lung function and asthma symptoms improve when estrogen and progesterone levels are raised, both naturally during certain times in the menstrual cycle and with the administration of oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy," said Catherine L. Haggerty, PhD, MPH, GSPH postdoctoral fellow and senior author of the report. "These studies suggest that estrogen and progesterone play a role in strengthening respiratory muscle and in increasing relaxation of bronchial smooth muscle, thereby reducing the contractile response. The two hormones also have been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory properties."

Haggerty and her colleagues, writing in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, reviewed scientific data generated between 1966 and 2001 and discovered that asthmatic patients experienced increased asthma episodes, increased hospitalizations for asthma and decreased pulmonary function during the premenstrual and menstrual phase, when hormonal levels are low. Conversely, some women experience ...