Originally published June 9 2005
Young women have higher rates of asthma than other adults, Swedish study shows
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Lars Larsson, MD, PhD, associate professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Ostersund, Sweden, says young women are at a higher risk for asthma than other adults. In a study conducted over 13 years, 17 percent of the young women reported having asthma at the end of the study, even though only 8,000 of the 11,000 original participants were reached. Although unsure why younger women would be more at risk than other adults, Larson noted "Being overweight and smoking were big risk factors."
The rate of asthma continues to steadily increase worldwide, but younger women may be particularly susceptible.
"Young women had the highest risk of developing asthma," says Lars Larsson, MD, PhD, associate professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Ostersund, Sweden.
"We aren't sure why young women have higher rates of asthma.
However, we do know they smoked more than the other groups."
Swedish researchers presented their study at the American Thoracic Society annual meeting.
study to identify young women as being at highest risk for adult-onset asthma."
While other studies have documented a rise in the number of asthma cases, this study clearly identifies young women as being at higher risk, he says.
Participants of various ages were questioned about any respiratory symptoms.
Thirteen years later, a second survey was taken of the same group, with 8,000 individuals responding.
While the rates of asthma in middle-aged and older Swedes also increased, it was not as dramatic as in younger adults.
The incidence of asthma in middle-aged adults increased from about 5% in the 1990 survey to 11% in the 2003 survey; the rates of asthma in the elderly increased from 6% to 10%.
The researchers concluded that young women have the highest risks of developing adult-onset asthma.
Overall the rate of developing asthma was 8% in women and 6% in men, Larsson says.
* If a family member had asthma, it increased a person's asthma risk threefold.
* Younger-age individuals had twice the risk of developing asthma than older individuals.
"Being overweight and smoking were big risk factors," Larson says.
Obesity placed individuals at 1.5 times the risk of developing asthma, and smoking posed a 1.2 times higher risk than nonsmoking.
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