Umeå University's logo

umu.sePublications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Oral contraception, body mass index, and asthma: a cross-sectional Nordic-Baltic population survey
Show others and affiliations
2009 (English)In: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, ISSN 0091-6749, E-ISSN 1097-6825, Vol. 123, no 2, p. 391-397Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests that sex steroid hormones may influence airways obstruction, and that metabolic status may modify potential effects.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the association between use of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) and asthma in a Nordic-Baltic population-based study, while taking into account possible interplay with body mass index (BMI).

METHODS: Postal questionnaires were sent to subjects in Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden from 1999 to 2001 (response rate in women, 77%). Pregnant women, women using hormone replacement therapy, and women >45 years were excluded. Analyses included 5791 women 25 to 44 years old, of whom 961 (17%) used OCP. Logistic regression analyses included adjustment for smoking, irregular menstruation, BMI, age, type of dwelling, and center.

RESULTS: Oral contraceptive pills were associated with increased risk for asthma (odds ratio, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.09-1.86), asthma with hay fever (1.48; 1.08-2.03), wheeze with shortness of breath (1.27; 1.02-1.60), hay fever (1.25; 1.06-1.48), and >/=3 asthma symptoms (1.29; 1.05-1.58). The findings were consistent between centers. The associations were present only among normal weight women (BMI 20-25 kg/m(2), asthma: 1.45; 1.02-2.05) and overweight women (BMI >25kg/m(2): 1.91; 1.20-3.02), but not among lean women (BMI <20 kg/m(2): 0.41; 0.12-1.40). Interaction between BMI and OCP in association with asthma was significant (P(interaction) < .05).

CONCLUSIONS: Women using oral contraceptive pills had more asthma. This was found only in normal weight and overweight women, indicating interplay between sex hormones and metabolic status in effect on the airways. The findings originate from a cross-sectional postal survey and should be interpreted with caution; it is recommended that asthma symptoms are included in clinical trials of oral contraception.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2009. Vol. 123, no 2, p. 391-397
Keywords [en]
Asthma; oral contraceptives; body mass index; RHINE; ECRHS
National Category
Respiratory Medicine and Allergy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-30821DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2008.10.041PubMedID: 19121863OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-30821DiVA, id: diva2:287282
Available from: 2010-01-18 Created: 2010-01-18 Last updated: 2018-06-08Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textPubMed

Authority records

Franklin, Karl

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Franklin, Karl
By organisation
SurgeryPulmonary Medicine
In the same journal
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Respiratory Medicine and Allergy

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn
Total: 112 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf