ACCP PRESS RELEASE
For Release: October 23, 2000
Contact: Mike White, (703) 739-1363[email protected]
Jim Augustine, (703) 644-6824[email protected]
As of October 22nd, call the press room at (415) 905-1020
LANDMARK NURSES HEALTH STUDY SHOWS THAT INCREASED ASTHMA IS LINKED TO HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is associated with an increased risk of asthma, according to a new report based on data from the landmark Nurses' Health Study.
Study findings were reported today during CHEST 2000, the annual scientific and clinical meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) being held in San Francisco.
The study was based on earlier research that suggested asthma risk in women decreases at the time of menopause and increases with the use of HRT. Recent studies have also shown that HRT, particularly estrogen, has both pro- and anti-inflammatory effects. The study reported today at CHEST 2000 set out to determine whether or not HRT increases the risk of adult-onset asthma over a longer time period than ever shown before and whether or not HRT also increased the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The Nurses' Health Study is a prospective cohort study of 121,701 women who were between the ages of 30 and 55 in 1976 and who have been followed over the years on a wide range of health- related topics. The new study reviewed 475,006 person-years of follow-up from 1984 to 1996. Looking at postmenopausal women, they found 756 new diagnoses of asthma, 345 new diagnoses of both asthma and COPD, and 409 new diagnoses of COPD per se.
Current users of estrogen alone had an increased risk of asthma compared with those who never used HRT, after adjustment for age and smoking behavior. This risk increased with dose and duration of estrogen use. Current users of estrogen and progestin and past users of HRT had similarly elevated risks of asthma. Current users of estrogen also were at increased risk of a new diagnosis of both asthma and COPD compared with those who never used HRT. However, the risk of COPD alone was no different among HRT users than among nonusers.
The researchers concluded that HRT is associated with an increased risk of asthma but not COPD. They added that further research is warranted to evaluate pulmonary responses to female reproductive hormones. Speaking on behalf of his fellow investigators, R. Graham Barr, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School said: "The effect of HRT appears to differ between asthma and COPD. HRT may worsen inflammation or bronchospasm leading to adult-onset asthma, but does not appear to contribute to the irreversible changes in lung function of COPD."
Reporters may get a copy of the full abstract of this study (or any study being presented at CHEST 2000) by clicking onto http://www.abstracts-on-line.com/abstracts/accp/.
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