Severe asthma has a higher prevalence rate in adult women.

Asthma "is more common in boys" during childhood, but "causes more problems" and becomes more severe in adult women, especially during the premenstrual period and during menopause.

This was highlighted by Eva Martínez, head of the Pulmonology Department at the Doctor Peset University Hospital in Valencia, during her intervention in the dialogue organized by Servimedia and the Health Observatory on the "Social Impact of Severe Asthma," in collaboration with GSK.

According to this pulmonology expert, severe asthma is not a linear disease, but it is known that stress, emotional imbalances, and the hormonal component of women play a significant role. "For example, during menstruation, women are more prone to experiencing a more severe case of asthma."

During the premenstrual period and the first few days of menstruation, "many women experience increased discomfort." In fact, adult women experience "more severe asthma attacks" during this period, even leading to admission to intensive care units. However, medical advances have meant that severe asthma episodes requiring hospitalization have now decreased, although this reality remains worrying.

The doctor explained that the arrival of menopause, far from providing relief for women with severe asthma, brings with it other problems "related to being overweight," which do not cause more flare-ups but rather more symptoms that require adjusting treatments.

Pregnancy

During pregnancy, physicians must "take special care" to avoid medication, but must keep the disease under control, as severe asthma attacks are "dangerous" during pregnancy, both for the mother and the fetus. In this regard, experts advocate the use of biological medications, but these must be administered by specialists with experience in asthma management and specialized units for this condition.

The head of the Pulmonology Department at Doctor Peset University Hospital in Valencia also highlighted the "genetic basis" of this condition, but emphasized other factors that influence the development of the disease, such as the environmental context and lifestyle of patients. In this regard, Martínez stated that there is a higher prevalence of the disease in patients who live in cities with greater environmental pollution and focused on how the "socioeconomic status" of people with asthma is a determining factor in the severity of the disease.

Diagnosis

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the majority of asthma-related deaths occur in lower-income countries and those where the disease is least diagnosed and treated.

In Spain, patients with severe asthma also face long delays in receiving an accurate diagnosis and treatment to relieve their symptoms. According to Susana Cabañero, a representative of the Spanish Association of Patients with Nasal Polyposis, in her case, it was a very severe allergy attack that worsened her asthma and triggered the development of nasal polyps.

Read also

She was 40 years old, depressed, and had been on steroids and antibiotics for two years when she was referred to a multidisciplinary unit, and it was at that moment that she saw "the light." Specialists switched her steroid treatment to a biologic drug that, after a long wait due to the pandemic, produced a "radical change" in her life "from the first injection."

Despite this, he warned, patients with severe asthma and polyposis have significant difficulty relating to others. They don't sleep well and are tired, which affects their work performance and relationships with their loved ones. This explains the importance of effective diagnosis and treatment.