Women are more likely to die from asthma than men

 Hormones clearly play a part, but so much is still a mystery. More research is needed.

Menopause is a time of huge hormonal change in the female body, and many women with asthma notice that hormonal changes can make their asthma worse.   We know women are more likely to have asthma and to have more severe asthma. Sadly, women are also more likely to die from their asthma. We know sex hormones have a role to play but we don’t yet understand why, or what we can do about it. That’s why we’re funding a dedicated programme of research looking into why asthma is worse for women. Our supporter, Alison, noticed her symptoms would get worse before her period but couldn’t be sure they were linked. She struggled to get her severe asthma under control until she reached perimenopause and started hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Here she shares her story and chats to one of our researchers about his work looking into the link between sex hormones and asthma.

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If you think your hormones could be affecting your asthma, it’s important to know that you’re not alone. You can find out more about managing your asthma triggers on our website. Thanks, Dr Samantha Walker Director of Research & Innovation Asthma + Lung UK Update 2022-11-01: there is now a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9OAvkJhEDk