Describing the status of reproductive ageing simply and precisely: A reproductive ageing score based on three questions and validated with hormone levels

Equation 6. Quadratic logistic function approximating the function mu(B)(with age in years). Equation 1. Proportion of women who have regular menstruation for each number of reported menstruations in the last year(with period = number of periods per year, x = number of women answering "Yes" to the question: "Do you have regular periods?", y = number of women answering "No, they have been irregular for a few months" and z = number of women answering "No, my periods have stopped", e.g. x(11) = number of women reporting regular menstruation among those who report 11 menstruations in the last 12 months). Equation 5. Biquadratic exponential function mu(A)depending of the number of periods. Equation 3. Age modification by smoking and oophorectomy. Equation 2. Proportion of women whose menstruations have already stopped, for each reported year of age(with age = age in years, x = number of women answering "Yes" to the question: "Do you have regular periods?", y = number of women answering "No, they have been irregular for a few months", z = number of women answering "No, my periods have stopped", e.g. x(40) = number of women reporting regular menstruations among those who are 40 years old). Equation 7. Final formula to calculate the reproductive ageing score (RAS)(with period being the number of periods per year and age as the age in years, modified according to smoking status and oophorectomy). Objective Most women live to experience menopause and will spend 4-8 years transitioning from fertile age to full menstrual stop. Biologically, reproductive ageing is a continuous process, but by convention, it is defined categorically as pre-, peri- and postmenopause;categories that are sometimes supported by measurements of sex hormones in blood samples. We aimed to develop and validate a new tool, a reproductive ageing score (RAS), that could give a simple and yet precise description of the status of reproductive ageing, without hormone measurements, to be used by health professionals and researchers. Methods Questionnaire data on age, menstrual regularity and menstrual frequency was provided by the large multicentre population-based RHINE cohort. A continuous reproductive ageing score was developed from these variables, using techniques of fuzzy mathematics, to generate a decimal number ranging from 0.00 (nonmenopausal) to 1.00 (postmenopausal). The RAS was then validated with sex hormone measurements (follicle stimulating hormone and 17 beta-estradiol) and interview-data provided by the large population-based ECRHS cohort, using receiver-operating characteristics (ROC). Results The RAS, developed from questionnaire data of the RHINE cohort, defined with high precision and accuracy the menopausal status as confirmed by interview and hormone data in the ECRHS cohort. The area under the ROC curve was 0.91 (95% Confidence interval (CI): 0.90-0.93) to distinguish nonmenopausal women from peri- and postmenopausal women, and 0.85 (95% CI: 0.83-0.88) to distinguish postmenopausal women from nonmenopausal and perimenopausal women. Conclusions: The RAS provides a useful and valid tool for describing the status of reproductive ageing accurately, on a continuous scale from 0.00 to 1.00, based on simple questions and without requiring blood sampling. The score allows for a more precise differentiation than the conventional categorisation in pre-, peri- and postmenopause. This is useful for epidemiological research and clinical trials. Equation 4. The reproductive ageing score as an aggregation function of mu(A)and mu(B)

Absolute values of lung function explain the sex difference in breathlessness in the general population.

Activity-related breathlessness is twice as common among females as males in the general population and is associated with adverse health outcomes. We tested whether this sex difference is explained by the lower absolute forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) or forced vital capacity (FVC) in females.This was a cross-sectional analysis of 3250 subjects (51% female) aged 38-67 years across 13 countries in the population-based third European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Activity-related breathlessness was measured using the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale. Associations with mMRC were analysed using ordered logistic regression clustering on centre, adjusting for post-bronchodilator spirometry, body mass index, pack-years smoking, cardiopulmonary diseases, depression and level of exercise.Activity-related breathlessness (mMRC ≥1) was twice as common in females (27%) as in males (14%) (odds ratio (OR) 2.21, 95% CI 1.79-2.72). The sex difference was not reduced when controlling for FEV1 % predicted (OR 2.33), but disappeared when controlling for absolute FEV1 (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.69-1.14). Absolute FEV1 explained 98-100% of the sex difference adjusting for confounders. The effect was similar within males and females, when using FVC instead of FEV1 and in healthy never-smokers.The markedly more severe activity-related breathlessness among females in the general population is explained by their smaller spirometric lung volumes

Pharmacological treatment of asthma in a cohort of adults during a 20-year period: results from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey I, II and III

Asthma often remains uncontrolled, despite the fact that the pharmacological treatment has undergone large changes. We studied changes in the treatment of asthma over a 20-year period and identified factors associated with the regular use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment. Changes in the use of medication were determined in 4617 randomly selected subjects, while changes in adults with persistent asthma were analysed in 369 participants. The study compares data from three surveys in 24 centres in 11 countries. The use of ICSs increased from 1.7% to 5.9% in the general population and the regular use of ICSs increased from 19% to 34% among persistent asthmatic subjects. The proportion of asthmatic subjects reporting asthma attacks in the last 12 months decreased, while the proportion that had seen a doctor in the last 12 months remained unchanged (42%). Subjects with asthma who had experienced attacks or had seen a doctor were more likely to use ICSs on a regular basis. Although ICS use has increased, only one-third of subjects with persistent asthma take ICSs on a regular basis. Less than half had seen a doctor during the last year. This indicates that underuse of ICSs and lack of regular healthcare contacts remains a problem in the management of asthma

Prevalence of asthma-like symptoms with ageing

BACKGROUND: Change in the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms in populations of ageing adults is likely to be influenced by smoking, asthma treatment and atopy. METHODS: The European Community Respiratory Health Survey collected information on prevalent asthma-like symptoms from representative samples of adults aged 20-44 years (29 centres in 13 European countries and Australia) at baseline and 10 and 20 years later (n=7844). Net changes in symptom prevalence were determined using generalised estimating equations (accounting for non-response through inverse probability weighting), followed by meta-analysis of centre level estimates. FINDINGS: Over 20 years the prevalence of 'wheeze' and 'wheeze in the absence of a cold' decreased (-2.4%, 95% CI -3.5 to -1.3%; -1.5%, 95% CI -2.4 to -0.6%, respectively) but the prevalence of asthma attacks, use of asthma medication and hay fever/nasal allergies increased (0.6%, 95% CI 0.1 to 1.11; 3.6%, 95% CI 3.0 to 4.2; 2.7%, 95% CI 1.7 to 3.7). Changes were similar in the first 10 years compared with the second 10 years, except for hay fever/nasal allergies (increase seen in the first 10 years only). Decreases in these wheeze-related symptoms were largely seen in the group who gave up smoking, and were seen in those who reported hay fever/nasal allergies at baseline. INTERPRETATION: European adults born between 1946 and 1970 have, over the last 20 years, experienced less wheeze, although they were more likely to report asthma attacks, use of asthma medication and hay fever. Decrease in wheeze is largely attributable to smoking cessation, rather than improved treatment of asthma. It may also be influenced by reductions in atopy with ageing

Prevalence of asthma-like symptoms with ageing

BACKGROUND: Change in the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms in populations of ageing adults is likely to be influenced by smoking, asthma treatment and atopy. METHODS: The European Community Respiratory Health Survey collected information on prevalent asthma-like symptoms from representative samples of adults aged 20-44 years (29 centres in 13 European countries and Australia) at baseline and 10 and 20 years later (n=7844). Net changes in symptom prevalence were determined using generalised estimating equations (accounting for non-response through inverse probability weighting), followed by meta-analysis of centre level estimates. FINDINGS: Over 20 years the prevalence of 'wheeze' and 'wheeze in the absence of a cold' decreased (-2.4%, 95% CI -3.5 to -1.3%; -1.5%, 95% CI -2.4 to -0.6%, respectively) but the prevalence of asthma attacks, use of asthma medication and hay fever/nasal allergies increased (0.6%, 95% CI 0.1 to 1.11; 3.6%, 95% CI 3.0 to 4.2; 2.7%, 95% CI 1.7 to 3.7). Changes were similar in the first 10 years compared with the second 10 years, except for hay fever/nasal allergies (increase seen in the first 10 years only). Decreases in these wheeze-related symptoms were largely seen in the group who gave up smoking, and were seen in those who reported hay fever/nasal allergies at baseline. INTERPRETATION: European adults born between 1946 and 1970 have, over the last 20 years, experienced less wheeze, although they were more likely to report asthma attacks, use of asthma medication and hay fever. Decrease in wheeze is largely attributable to smoking cessation, rather than improved treatment of asthma. It may also be influenced by reductions in atopy with ageing

Joint effect of obesity and TNFA variability on asthma: two international cohort studies

Obesity is a risk factor for asthma. Adipose tissue expresses pro-inflammatory molecules including tumour necrosis factor (TNF), and levels of TNF are also related to polymorphisms in the TNF-a (TNFA) gene. The current authors examined the joint effect of obesity and TNFA variability on asthma in adults by combining two population-based studies. The European Community Respiratory Health Survey and the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Disease in Adults used comparable protocols, questionnaires and measures of lung function and atopy. DNA samples from 9,167 participants were genotyped for TNFA -308 and lymphotoxin-a (LTA) +252 gene variants. Obesity and TNFA were associated with asthma when mutually adjusting for their independent effects (odds ratio (OR) for obesity 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7–3.2; OR for TNFA -308 polymorphism 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.6). The association of obesity with asthma was stronger for subjects carrying the G/A and A/A TNFA -308 genotypes compared with the more common G/G genotype, particularly among nonatopics (OR for G/A and A/A genotypes 6.1, 95% CI 2.5–14.4; OR for G/G genotype 1.7, 95% CI 0.8–3.3). The present findings provide, for the first time, evidence for a complex pattern of interaction between obesity, a pro-inflammatory genetic factor and asthma

Pharmacological treatment of asthma in a cohort of adults during a 20-year period: results from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey I, II and III

Asthma often remains uncontrolled, despite the fact that the pharmacological treatment has undergone large changes. We studied changes in the treatment of asthma over a 20-year period and identified factors associated with the regular use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment. Changes in the use of medication were determined in 4617 randomly selected subjects, while changes in adults with persistent asthma were analysed in 369 participants. The study compares data from three surveys in 24 centres in 11 countries. The use of ICSs increased from 1.7% to 5.9% in the general population and the regular use of ICSs increased from 19% to 34% among persistent asthmatic subjects. The proportion of asthmatic subjects reporting asthma attacks in the last 12 months decreased, while the proportion that had seen a doctor in the last 12 months remained unchanged (42%). Subjects with asthma who had experienced attacks or had seen a doctor were more likely to use ICSs on a regular basis. Although ICS use has increased, only one-third of subjects with persistent asthma take ICSs on a regular basis. Less than half had seen a doctor during the last year. This indicates that underuse of ICSs and lack of regular healthcare contacts remains a problem in the management of asthma