Adolescents going through puberty, menopausal women, and pregnant women are at higher risk for asthma. Hormone levels have significant impact on lung function. When hormone levels are low, people tend to experience increased asthma episodes. This may be why boys have greater asthma problems prior to puberty than girls. According to the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, progesterone and estrogen may improve lung function. “Positive effects of estrogen and progesterone on lung function and asthma have been observed across the life span in women,” said Catherine L. Haggerty, PhD, MPH, University of Pittsburgh. Studies suggest that the hormones play a role in strengthening respiratory muscle and increasing relaxation of bronchial smooth muscle. Estrogen and progesterone also have been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory properties.”
After puberty the risk of asthma is higher in girls. Hormone levels are low during premenstrual and menstrual phases of their cycle which may lead to asthma symptoms. Additionally, the age at which a girl starts menstruating may have a significant impact on her lung function. Researchers investigated whether the age when a woman began menstruating had any association with her asthma risk and respiratory function in adulthood and found that it did. They studied about 3,000 women from 27 to 57 years old. The women whose periods started early, before age 13, were nearly three times as likely to report having at least three symptoms of asthma (such as wheezing, shortness of breath, and being woken up by a cough) along with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (an exaggerated response to inhaling substances that cause the airways to constrict).
According to AAAAI, Pregnancy may affect the severity of your asthma symptoms. One study showed that asthma symptoms were worse in 35% of pregnant women, improved in 28% and remained the same in 33% of pregnant women. Asthma has a tendency to get worse in the late second and early third trimesters; and, many women have fewer symptoms during the last four weeks of pregnancy. In fact, some women report asthma improving after they have had children.
As for women going through menopause, there is evidence that while taking hormone replacement therapy some women experience improved lung function and a decrease in asthma symptoms. This is also true of women who use oral contraceptives. Dr. Joan C. Gluck, chair of ACAAI’s Women’s Health Committee, states, “An increase in allergy and asthma symptoms may be an early sign of menopause. Women should tell their doctors if they notice a pattern of change in their asthma related to their periods.”
http://www.examiner.com/allergy-in-grand-rapids/asthma-symptoms-are-affected-by-hormone-levels