Asthma linked to heart disease and stroke in women

By Will Boggs, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Asthma that begins in adulthood appears to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke in women but not in men, according to a report in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Adult-onset asthma, like other inflammatory diseases that disproportionately affect women such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, may be a relatively strong risk factor for heart disease and stroke, Dr. Stephen J. Onufrak from the US Department of Agriculture, Stoneville, Mississippi told Reuters Health.

Onufrak and colleagues used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study to examine the association of asthma with the risks of heart disease and stroke according to gender.

They found that, compared with their counterparts without asthma, women with adult-onset asthma had a 2.10-fold increase in the rate of heart disease and a 2.36-fold increase in the rate of stroke.

There was no association between childhood- or adult-onset asthma and heart disease or stroke in men, or between childhood-onset asthma and heart or stroke in women.

While this research could have treatment implications, "I believe the results need to be replicated in another (study group) prior to establishment of any concrete recommendations," Onufrak said.

SOURCE: American Journal of Cardiology, May 1, 2008.