Menstrual disorders and the risk of asthma: A prospective study of women from their early twenties to their mid-forties

Aim

To examine whether experiencing menstrual disorders during reproductive years is associated with current asthma among women in their 40s.

Methods

Data were from 1240 participants (born between 1973 and 1978) in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Information on menstrual disorders was collected in 1996 and every three years from 2000 to 2018. Current asthma was defined as (1) ever having doctor-diagnosed asthma, and (2) experiencing an asthma attack, and/or using asthma medication in the last 12 months. Logistic regression with generalised estimating equations was used to link current asthma to repeated measures of menstrual disorders, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, health behaviours, reproductive factors, preterm birth, and asthma before menarche.

Results

Among the participants, 14.2 % had current asthma in their 40s. After adjusting for covariates, report of heavy menstrual bleeding (OR: 1.62 [1.10 to 2.39]), severe period pain (OR: 1.67 [1.10, 2.55]), or premenstrual syndrome (OR: 1.66 [1.20 to 2.31]) across reproductive years was associated with higher odds of current asthma. There was an interaction between report of irregular periods and survey time, with irregular periods being increasingly associated with current asthma in later surveys.

Conclusions

Women who experienced heavy menstrual bleeding, severe period pain, and premenstrual syndrome at any point from their 20s to 40s had higher odds of current asthma in their 40s. In contrast, irregular periods were associated with current asthma only when reported during their 40s. These results suggest that women's menstrual characteristics in their reproductive years may reflect their lung health in middle age.