305
Views
14
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Review

Premenstrual Asthma and Symptoms Related to Premenstrual Syndrome

, M.D., Ph.D., , M.D., Ph.D., , M.D., , M.D., , M.D., , M.D., Ph.D., , M.D., Ph.D., , M.D., Ph.D., , M.D., Ph.D. & , M.D. show all
Pages 835-840 | Published online: 28 Sep 2010
 

Abstract

Background. It is unclear whether premenstrual asthma is associated with premenstrual syndrome. The objective of this study is to compare premenstrual symptoms among asthmatic women according to whether they have premenstrual asthma or not. Methods. A questionnaire on respiratory symptoms during a single menstrual cycle was developed for asthmatics of fertile age, together with another on symptoms related to premenstrual syndrome. These included dysphoric-psychiatric symptoms (anxiety, depression, fatigue, irritability, and mood swings), edematous symptoms (abdominal and mammary tension, swelling, acne, and migraine), and other symptoms (leg pains, nausea, sweating, vomiting, and tiredness). Morning and evening peak flow scores were collected to evaluate lung function. Premenstrual asthma was determined to be a ≥ 20% objective exacerbation in the premenstrual phase over the preovulatory phase in terms of both respiratory symptoms and/or peak flow. The intensity of the change in symptoms was evaluated according to the effect size. Results. The study examined 103 patients of fertile age, 46 of whom (44.7%) presented with premenstrual asthma. Practically all of the monitored symptoms increased in the premenstrual phase with respect to the preovulatory phase. This increase was greater in women with premenstrual asthma, especially for abdominal tension (effect size .88 against .33; p = .009) and mammary tension (.95 against .49; p = .018). Conclusions. A clear link was found between premenstrual asthma and the premenstrual exacerbation of dysphoric symptoms, and certain edematous symptoms such as abdominal and mammary tension as well as a swelling sensation.

Acknowledgment

This Study was supported by grants from Neumosur (7/2003) and the Health Ministry of the Regional Autonomous Government of Andalusia in 2005 (0074/2005).

This study was carried out on patients from five hospitals: Hospital Juan Ramón Jiménez, Huelva, Spain; Hospital Comarcal de la Serranía de Ronda, Málaga, Spain; Hospital Infanta Elena, Huelva, Spain; Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain; and Hospital de Baza, Granada, Spain. We wish to thank the following medical personnel for their help in performing the field study: Evangelina Maldonado and Jose Antonio Bernal Rodríguez (Huelva), Maria José Chocrón Giráldez and Magdalena Pinto Tenorio (Ronda), Patricia Calvo Tudela (Baza), and Pablo Pérez Navarro (Sevilla).

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.