Gender-specific determinants of asthma among U.S. adults

Abstract

BackgroundAsthma, a chronic respiratory disease affecting over 18.7 million American adults, has marked disparities by gender, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Our goal was to identify gender-specific demographic and socioeconomic determinants of asthma prevalence among U.S. adults using data from the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).MethodsGender-specific regression analyses were performed to model the relationship between asthma prevalence with age, race/ethnicity, income, education level, smoking status, and body mass index (BMI), while taking into account the study designs.ResultsBased on BRFSS data from 1,003,894 respondents, weighted asthma prevalence was 6.2% in males and 10.6% in females. Asthma prevalence among grade 2 obese and grade 3 obese vs. not overweight or obese women was 2.5 and 3.5 times higher, respectively, while that in men was 1.7 and 2.4 times higher; asthma prevalence among current vs. never smoker women was 1.4 times higher, while that in men was 1.1 times higher. Similar results were obtained with NHANES data from 13,364 respondents: asthma prevalence among grade 2 obese and grade 3 obese vs. not overweight or obese respondents was 2.0 and 3.3 times higher for women, though there was no significant difference for men; asthma prevalence among current vs. never smokers was 1.8 times higher for women and not significantly different in men. Asthma prevalence by race/ethnicity and income levels did not differ considerably between men and women.ConclusionsOur results underscore the importance of obesity and smoking as modifiable asthma risk factors that most strongly affect women.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40733-017-0030-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Polysomnographic variables in Alternate overlap syndrome: data from sleep heart health study

“…As noticed in the general population, in our study, asthma was more prevalent in the females [40]. Relatively higher pack-years of smoking was seen in asthmatics than non-asthmatics which is also consistent with data demonstrating a higher risk of OSA and asthma with increasing pack-years.…”

Impaired Lung Function, Lung Disease, and Risk of Incident Dementia

“…This enhances etiological understanding -as it suggests that impaired lung function is linked to dementia and MCI risk independent of smoking and smoking-related confounders.An unexpected finding from the present analysis was the suggestive (but nonsignificant) difference in associations by race, whereby among blacks the COPD pattern was most strongly associated with dementia and MCI risk, whereas in whites the restrictive impairment pattern was most strongly associated. Importantly, both restrictive impairment and COPD are heterogeneous classifications, and the prevalence of specific pathologies is known to vary by race (36)(37)(38)(39). If these varied underlying pathologies are associated with dementia and MCI risk, i e t y then the differences observed in the present study are not unexpected.…”

Caesarean delivery, childhood asthma, and effect modification by sex: An observational study and meta‐analysis

“…15,21 Moreover, there is some evidence of other risk factors for asthma and wheeze that differ by sex. 22,23 One proposed mechanism for an association between caesarean and asthma, relating to the hygiene hypothesis, is that children who are not delivered vaginally have altered microbial colonisation which could influence immune system development and asthma susceptibility. 1,2 A second proposed mechanism is that neonatal respiratory morbidity, for which children delivered by caesarean are at an increased risk, 3-5 may subsequently increase asthma risk.…”

“…In childhood, asthma prevalence is higher among males, but after puberty, the prevalence is higher among females, potentially due to hormonal changes among other factors . Moreover, there is some evidence of other risk factors for asthma and wheeze that differ by sex . One proposed mechanism for an association between caesarean and asthma, relating to the hygiene hypothesis, is that children who are not delivered vaginally have altered microbial colonisation which could influence immune system development and asthma susceptibility .…”