Asthma risks in adults and children

Severe asthma strikes boys much more often than girls, but women are much more likely than men to have a severe case of the lung disease, as reported by researchers. Also, children with severe asthma tend to have better lung function than expected.Many people have severe asthma that is hard to keep under control with medication. Researchers set out to see how severe asthma differs in adults and children. Researchers at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, USA included in their study as many as 150 adults and 125 children who had been referred to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center for severe asthma. They found that among children, severe asthma was most common among boys, who made up 62 percent of the cases. The male-female ratio was flipped in adults, however, with women making up 68 percent of severe asthma cases. Women's hormones or sex-related differences in lung size may play a role in why women are more likely to have severe asthma in adulthood, but no one knows for certain. The study also revealed a difference between adults and children with severe asthma that could have an important effect on the treatment and diagnosis of the illness.

The amount of air a person can exhale in a second, known as forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), is an important measure used to diagnose asthma. Adults in the study had an average FEV1 that was about 57 percent of the healthy average, which is a clear sign of severe asthma. In children, the average FEV1 was 74 percent. This is below normal, but does not fall into the severe range. However it is not necessarily the case, since children may experience life-threatening asthma attacks even if their FEV1 is not in the severe range. Severe asthma should be diagnosed not only using FEV1, but also by taking into account other factors, including the frequency and severity of symptoms and the need for aggressive medication. These findings highlight many of the significant differences between severe asthma in children and adults. It is hoped that this will spur further research that can lead to a better understanding and better treatment of this disease.

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