Preliminary research reveals that polycystic ovary syndrome, obesity, and being overweight were associated with asthma in reproductive aged women.

“A greater proportion of women with polycystic ovary syndrome report asthma, and the results of this study suggest that asthma is associated with PCOS and excess weight,” said lead author Anju Elizabeth Joham, MBBS, FRACP, an endocrinologist and postdoctoral research fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

“These findings highlight that polycystic ovary syndrome is a complex disorder that includes significant inflammatory underpinnings. These results also raise awareness of the need to consider higher risks in other health areas in this condition,” Joham said.

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common ailment among women of childbearing age, but no studies of the relationships of asthma with PCOS and weight have been published to date.

Joham and her colleagues assessed the prevalence of asthma in reproductive-age women. They also investigated the impact of obesity on the prevalence of asthma in the women who had PCOS compared with those who did not have PCOS.

To examine these links, Joham and her colleagues analyzed data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), an ongoing national periodic survey that has been following more than 58,000 Australian women of various ages since 1996 and periodically collecting data from them about the factors that influence their health.

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