First Aid

Asthma Week

1–7 September is Asthma Week, and this year Asthma Australia is shining a spotlight on the connection between women's hormones and asthma. 

Did you know hormones can affect asthma? For many women, symptoms can change during their menstrual cycle, pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause, yet this connection is often overlooked.

 Around 1 in 5 Australian women live with asthma. Overall, women are twice as likely as men to be hospitalised for asthma, and many go years without recognising that their symptoms could be connected to hormonal changes. Understanding this connection can help women recognise when their asthma isn't well controlled and seek the support they need. 

This Asthma Week, Asthma Australia is encouraging women to learn how hormones can influence asthma, monitor changes in their symptoms throughout different life stages, and speak with their healthcare professional if their asthma changes or worsens. 

CHILDHOOD

In childhood, asthma is the leading cause of disease burden in girls aged 1-9 years and the second leading cause of disease burden for older girls and adolescents (aged 10-14 years). This burden continues to shape health, schooling and daily life from and throughout adolescence.  

“Disease burden” is a term used to show how much a health problem affects someone’s life – both how they feel day to day and how long they live.

Around 5000 girls are hospitalised each year due to asthma.

TEENAGERS AND YOUNG WOMEN

Even though asthma is more common in primary-school aged boys, after puberty the pattern shifts: asthma becomes more common in females than males. Girls who already carry a high burden in childhood move into adolescence and adulthood with an even greater gendered risk. This shift is driven by hormonal changes that increase airway inflammation and asthma severity.  

Girls and women are hospitalised at around twice the rate of boys and men in all age groups starting from age 15.

The teenage years are a key time for asthma care. Teens reach new age milestones that open up more treatment options. They also start taking on more responsibility for their own asthma. Peer pressure and wanting to feel “normal” can make asthma care harder. Supervision of daily preventer use often drops, and teens are expected to manage their medicines and symptoms on their own.  

By increasing awareness of the unique challenges women face, we can help more women understand their asthma, access the care they deserve and breathe easier. 

Learn more at asthmaweek.org.au.