Are Males more susceptible to Asthma than Females?
Written by Ritika Jhawar
Edited by Jasmine Jeon
March 21, 2022
Edited by Jasmine Jeon
March 21, 2022
Breathing is one of the most basic and essential human processes required to survive. Yet, many of us take it for granted when exercising, playing on sports teams, or even just going up a staircase. For some though, these seemingly simple tasks are actually much more difficult due to asthma. Asthma is defined as a condition in which your airways are narrow/swelled, causing an increased difficulty to breathe. This leads to cells producing extra mucus, and signs of coughing/wheezing. There are varying levels of intensity one may face with asthma– as for some it may be a small issue, but for others it could prevent them from engaging in any intense activity. Some of the symptoms include chest tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing attacks, etc. Unfortunately, it cannot be cured, but it is treatable with the right plan [2].
To discover whether either sex is predisposed to this conditon, JAMA Pediatrics studied the effects of androgens and their receptors (ARs) on asthma risk. Androgens are sex hormones that play a large role in puberty and further reproductive health. Both the male and female reproductive systems make androgens, which function to assist in bone density, muscle development, sexual desire and function, etc [3]. Previous studies have shown that AR-defficient mice have an increased severity of inflammation and bronchoconstriction (the narrowing of airways), therefore leading researchers to propose that androgens are helpful to protect excess inflammation. As their hypothesis, and now proven, they believed that AR-deficiency was associated with increased asthma risk. Children and adults with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) were the main focuses of this study.
The study began by organizing AIS individuals (both varying with complete and incomplete syndrome) by age, obesity, and nicotine addiction using a logistic regression model that analyzes relationships between variables [4]. Then, by randomly selecting age-matched controls, the patients were compared to each other in a validation study [5] which ensured the evidence was reliable and relevant. They then repeated the analysis after excluding those with a history of nicotine dependance and those who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (a group of diseases that cause airflow blockage and breathing-related problems [5].
The results showed that asthma prevalence was higher in patients with AIS (complete and incomplete) compared to those who were unaffected. The chances for having asthma was higher in diagnosed patients versus the control, and the same results were seen when excluding pulmonary disease/nicotine patients. Moreover, after including age, obesity, and nicotine dependence, asthma risk was also increased in AIS patients. Younger patients had a higher risk for having asthma, but if they were supplementing with testosterone, the risk was lower. This opens the possibility for androgen supplementation to help manage asthma.
To conclude, androgen insensitivity syndrome has a strong correlation with increased asthma risk. This risk is higher than those with partial AIS. Looking over the factors, neither age nor pulmonary disease increased the risk (AIS patients still at much higher risk but not varying levels). Younger and older patients with no androgen receptor function (AR deficiency) are at a much higher risk for developing asthma. With this important discovery and moving forward, using medical record-based data may be helpful in studying genetic mutations and learning how to further treat them in different fields (pediatrics, surgical, etc).
References
- Benjamin Gaston. Asthma risk among individuals with androgen receptor deficiency. JAMA Pediatrics. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2778436?resultclick=1. Published July 1, 2021. Accessed February 5, 2022.
- Asthma. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/asthma/symptoms-causes/syc-20369653. Published August 11, 2020. Accessed February 5, 2022.
- Androgens: Function, measurement and related disorders. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22002-androgens. Accessed February 5, 2022.
- Lawton G, Burns E, Rosencrance L. What is logistic regression? - definition from Searchbusinessanalytics. SearchBusinessAnalytics. https://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/definition/logistic-regression. Published January 20, 2022. Accessed February 5, 2022.
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/copd/index.html. Published February 22, 2021. Accessed February 14, 2022.