- Title
- Sex hormones and systemic inflammation are modulators of the obese-asthma phenotype
- Creator
- Scott, H. A.; Gibson, P. G.; Garg, M. L.; Upham, J. W.; Wood, L. G.
- Relation
- Allergy Vol. 71, Issue 7, p. 1037-1047
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/all.12891
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Background: Both systemic inflammation and sex hormones have been proposed as potential mediators of the obese-asthma phenotype. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between sex hormones, oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use, systemic inflammation and airway inflammation in adults with asthma. Methods: Obese (n = 39) and nonobese (n = 42) females and obese (n = 24) and nonobese (n = 25) males with asthma were recruited. Females were further categorized as reproductive-aged (<50 years old; n = 36) or older (>50 years old; n = 45). Thirteen (36.1%) reproductive-aged females were using the OCP. Participants had induced sputum cell counts measured and blood analysed for sex hormones and inflammatory markers. Results: Obese reproductive-aged females had higher sputum %neutrophils than nonobese reproductive-aged females (45.4 ± 24.3% vs 27.5 ± 17.5%, P = 0.016); however, there was no difference in sputum neutrophils in obese compared with nonobese males (P = 0.620) or older females (P = 0.087). Multiple linear regression analysis found testosterone and OCP use to be negative predictors of sputum %neutrophils, while C-reactive protein and IL-6 were positive predictors of sputum %neutrophils. BMI and age were not significant predictors in the multivariate model. Reproductive-aged females using the OCP had significantly lower sputum %neutrophils than those not using the OCP (23.2 ± 12.6% vs 42.1 ± 23.8%, P = 0.015). Conclusions: This study suggests that sex hormones and systemic inflammation may be mediating the obese-asthma phenotype. The observation that OCP use was associated with lower sputum %neutrophils in reproductive-aged females warrants further investigation.
- Subject
- asthma; neutrophil; obesity; sex hormone; systemic inflammation
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1323027
- Identifier
- uon:24717
- Identifier
- ISSN:0105-4538
- Language
- eng
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