Study Women suffer from allergies much more often and more severely

Allergies and Asthma: Women suffer more frequently and more violently
About every third German suffers from allergies. Pollen, animal hair, various foods: Triggers for allergies are truly enough. Some allergens appear to have more intense effects on women. According to scientists, they suffer more frequently and more severely from pollen and food allergies and thus also from asthma.

Over 20,000 different triggers of allergies
According to an older survey, about every third adult in Germany is allergic. And every third child suffers from an allergy, as the AOK children's report showed recently. There are plenty of possible causes: "Over 20,000 different triggers of allergies are known today," writes the German Allergy and Asthma Association (DAAB) on its website. Some triggers are apparently more problematic for women than for men, as Austrian experts now report.

According to experts, women suffer more often and more severely from pollen and food allergies and thus from asthma. Sex hormones, among others, are responsible for this. (Image: drubig-photo / fotolia.com)

Women have more and more frequent pollen and food allergies
Women suffer more often and more severely from pollen allergies and food allergies and thus also from asthma, reports the Medical University (MedUni) Vienna in a recent release.

On the one hand, female sex hormones increase the risk and symptoms of asthma and allergies, and on the other, hormone supplements such as the birth control pills are also important.

As Erika Jensen-Jarolim of the Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research of the MedUni Vienna emphasized on the occasion of World Women's Day on 8 March, these factors should receive more attention.

Girls become more susceptible at the beginning of sexual maturity
According to the information, boys are more likely to suffer from allergies and asthma by the age of ten. But with the onset of sexual maturity and puberty, the increased release of the sex hormone estrogen causes the girls to become much more vulnerable.

"Estrogens make inflammatory cells such as mast cells more sensitive to allergens. In contrast, the male hormone testosterone seems to exert a kind of protective function, "says Jensen-Jarolim.

This phenomenon accompanies women with the waves of hormone secretion in their respective stages of life - from the first menstrual period to the use of contraceptives, pregnancy, to hormone replacement therapy during menopause.

In addition, there is an increased sensitivity to environmental pollutants, especially smoking.

Early clarification of an allergy
As stated in the college's announcement, taking hormones in life and family planning is essential today, for example, to avoid falling hormone levels, which are not insignificant in the development of osteoporosis.

"These hormones give rise to hypersensitivity, which is also described by atypical symptoms," said Jensen-Jarolim. Among the atypical symptoms include migraine, joint problems, eczema, acne and respiratory problems.

"In pregnancy, the hormone balance is different again. Asthma can worsen in one third of pregnant women - and an asthma attack during pregnancy is a high risk for both mother and child. "

Therefore, the early clarification of an allergy, preferably before pregnancy, advisable - because an untreated allergy is the first step to asthma. (Ad)