For Release: April 26-29, 1998 (Note individual embargo dates)
Before April 26 Contact:
Elizabeth Hlinko (212) 315-6473
Celia Vimont (212) 315-8746
Mike White (703) 739-1363
April 26-29:
call the ALA/ATS Press Room at 312-808-2005
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN LUNG DISEASE FOUND
IN PREVALENCE, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
CHICAGO--Lung disease takes a particularly big toll on women, suggest a number of new studies being presented at the American Lung Association/American Thoracic Society International Conference April 24-29 in Chicago.
The studies point to a number of factors that may cause gender differences in prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of lung disease, from physical differences of the airways, to gender bias of physicians, to patients' emotional reaction to lung disease.
Three studies being presented at the conference point to gender differences in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which affects nearly 16 million Americans. COPD is the umbrella term for emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
One study of more than 7,000 adults finds that female smokers and nonsmokers are more likely than males to report having COPD. The study found that female smokers were twice as likely as male smokers to report COPD; female nonsmokers were 2.85 times more likely than male nonsmokers to report COPD. Study author Dr. Yue Chen noted that while it is not known why women smokers and nonsmokers might be more prone to COPD, it might be related to women's smaller airway size compared with men's. (To be presented Wed., April 29, 8:15 Central Time)
A second study on gender and COPD to be presented at the conference suggests that COPD is underdiagnosed, particularly in women. Researchers at the University of Toronto and UCLA School of Medicine surveyed 192 primary care physicians in the U.S. and Canada about a hypothetical smoker with cough and breathing problems; in some cases, the doctors were told the patient was female; in other cases, they were told the patient was male. Physicians were asked to state the most probable diagnosis and the diagnostic studies needed, and they were then given the findings of the patient's lung-function test known as spirometry.
Initially, COPD was given as the most probable diagnosis significantly more often for men than women (58% vs. 42%), but the likelihood of a COPD diagnosis increased significantly and initial differences between the sexes decreased after doctors considered the spirometry findings. (To be presented Wed., April 29, 8:15 a.m. Central Time)
A third study to be presented at the conference suggests that COPD may have a greater impact on the quality of life of women compared with men. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago surveyed 83 people with COPD, and although they found no gender differences in severity of disease or symptoms, women reported having a lower quality of life and lower emotional functioning compared with men.
"We don't know why women with COPD have a lower quality of life compared with men, but it may be that women's multiple roles make their lives so complex that the breathing problems caused by this chronic disease have a greater impact on them," said study lead author Janet Larson, Ph.D. (To be presented at a press panel Mon., April 27 at 11 a.m. Central Time)
Asthma also may take a greater toll on women, another study being presented at the conference suggests. The study by researchers at the University of Calgary found that women whose asthma requires treatment in the intensive care unit have more severe disease, more use of asthma medications, more asthma triggers and more symptoms than men with asthma who are treated in the intensive care unit. Doctors may treat asthma differently in men and women, the researchers suggest. One possible clue to the gender difference: the study found that female asthmatics were much more likely than men with asthma to smoke cigarettes, a potent asthma trigger. (To be presented at a press panel Tues., April 28 at 11 a.m. Central Time)
A third lung disease that appears to affect males and females differently is the nighttime breathing problem known as obstructive sleep apnea. Unlike COPD and asthma, sleep apnea's toll is greater on men. But a study to be presented at the conference suggests that while sleep apnea is more common and severe in men, sleep apnea that occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is more common in women. These findings may reflect differences in the control of breathing and upper airway function between men and women, according to the researchers from the University of Toronto.
The study looked at 855 patients with sleep apnea, and found that overall, men were more than three times as likely as women to suffer from sleep apnea, and seven times as likely to suffer from severe sleep apnea. However, sleep apnea occurring during REM sleep was disproportion-ately more common in women than in men.
Lead researcher Chris O'Connor, M.D., explained that during REM sleep, which accounts for about 20% of total sleep time, the body loses muscle tone everywhere, including the airways. "Women seem to have some functional advantage in non-REM sleep which they lose during REM sleep, when the body relaxes," he said. (To be presented at a press panel Tues., April 28, at 11 a.m. Central Time)
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