Hormonal contraceptives minimise onset of Asthma in women, study finds

A newer study found that there was a reduced risk of new-onset asthma in women when using Hormonal contraceptives. The recent study was published in the "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology", 2020.

Studies have found that there is a sex difference in the incidence and prevalence of asthma. There is growing evidence to show that asthma pathogenesis is regulated by sex hormones. Despite well-described sex differences in asthma incidence, there remains uncertainty about the role of female sex hormones in the development of asthma. Bright Nwaru et al conducted a study to investigate if hormonal contraceptive use and duration of use were associated with new-onset asthma in reproductive-age women.

Also Read: Also Read:BMJ study links Air pollution to higher risk of Asthma in young children

The researchers used the Optimum Patient Care Research Database, a UK national primary care database for the study. The study was conducted from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2016. They constructed an open cohort of 16- to 45-year-old women (N = 564,896) and followed for up to 17 years. Multilevel Cox regression models were used to analyze the data.

The findings of the study were as follows:

• At baseline, 26% of women were using any hormonal contraceptives.

• During follow-up (3,597,146 person-years), 25,288 women developed asthma, an incidence rate of 7.0 per 1000 person-years.

• Compared with non use, previous use of any hormonal contraceptives, combined, and progestogen-only therapy was associated with reduced risk of new-onset asthma.

• Longer duration of use was associated with a lower risk of asthma onset than nonuse.

Thus, the authors concluded that hormonal contraceptive use was associated with reduced risk of new-onset asthma in women of reproductive age. They further added that mechanistic investigations to uncover the biological processes for these observations are required. They also suggested Clinical trials to further investigate the safety and efficacy of hormonal contraceptives for primary prevention of asthma. 

For further reading, click the following link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2020.02.027