Asthma – Genetic Contributors and Hormonal Influences
Genetics and Asthma
Although environmental factors continue to play a larger roll in the development of asthma, genetics have always contributed to rises in asthmatic patients. Approximately one third of all asthmatics share their health condition with at least one other member of their immediate family and individuals are more likely to inherit the trait from their mother than their father. Since allergies can also be inherited and often share the same genetic markers as asthma, researchers continue to link the two traits.
Researchers continue to study the link between asthma and allergies, but have yet to define the exact genes responsible for the conditions. They have found one gene, ADAM33, that is responsible for the regulation of enzymes metalloproteases. These enzymes are responsible for some responses of the smooth muscles in the airway and scientists believe that mutations in this gene may be responsible for resulting airway changes during asthmatic responses.
Hormones and Asthma
Genes, environmental contributors, and lifestyle choices can affect an individual’s chances of developing asthma, but hormones can also play a major roll in this condition. Scientists have found that hormone levels in women seem to affect the severity of asthma in the suffering individual.
Researchers have found that some women experience fluctuations in their asthma during their menstrual cycle. Age, asthmatic history, and proximity of asthmatic attacks to the beginning of the menstrual cycle seem to play a large roll in how the fluctuations of menstrual hormones affect asthmatic symptoms during that period of time. Apparently 30% to 40% of women who have asthma experience fluctuations in the severity of their condition during their menstrual cycle.
As a result, birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, or oral contraceptives should help to alleviate the fluctuations in asthma over a long period of time. This does not seem to be the case, however, despite the evidence that other hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy and menopause seem to affect the severity in asthmatic symptoms.
Asthmatic women who become pregnant seem to show some signs of change in their symptoms. One third say their asthmatic symptoms increase in severity while equal parts claim that they either have no symptomatic changes or suffer less during their pregnancy. There even seem to be some links between the changes in severity and the gender of the fetus.
Menopausal asthmatic women and those about to enter into menopause seem to suffer more from their asthma than they did prior to the hormonal changes. Asthmatic hospitalization increases fourfold during this time and hormone replacement therapy seems to have little affect on asthmatic symptoms.