Women with asthma who use only short-term reliever inhalers, which are often blue, are 30 percent more likely to suffer from infertility, new research suggests.
Whereas female sufferers who take preventer inhalers, which contain steroids, have the same pregnancy prospects as non-asthma patients, a study found today.
Relying just on relievers, which open up the airways, also causes women to take 20 percent longer, on average, to become pregnant, the research adds.
Infertility was defined as taking more than a year to become pregnant despite having regular, unprotected sex.
Lead author Dr Luke Grzeskowiak from the University of Adelaide, said: ‘Five-to-10 per cent of all women around the world have asthma and it is one of the most common chronic medical conditions in women of reproductive age.
‘Inhaled corticosteroids suppress the immune system, whereas short-acting asthma treatments do not alter immune function.
‘In women who are only using relievers it’s possible that, while their asthma symptoms may improve, inflammation may still be present in the lungs and other organs in the body, including the uterus’.
Infertility affects around 11 percent of women and nine percent of men of a reproductive age in the US. In the UK, approximately one in seven couples have trouble conceiving.
Women with asthma who use only short-term reliever inhalers, which are often blue, are 30 percent more likely to suffer from infertility, new research suggests (stock)
‘This could lead to a reduction in fertility treatments’
Dr Grzeskowiak said: ‘This study shows that women using short-acting asthma relievers take longer to get pregnant.
‘On the other hand, continued use of long-acting asthma preventers to control asthma seems to protect fertility and reduce the time it takes women with asthma to become pregnant.
‘This could lead to a reduction in the need for fertility treatments.’
Speaking of the importance of women controlling their condition, he added: ‘There is plenty of evidence that maternal asthma has a negative impact on the health of pregnant mothers and their babies, and so our general advice is that women should take steps to get their asthma under control before trying to conceive.’
The researchers plan to investigate how asthma affects women undergoing fertility treatments.
How is asthma linked to fertility?
Inflammation caused by asthma, which typically affects the lungs, may also also reach the uterus and could therefore impact women’s pregnancy chances.
Ying Cheong, professor of Reproductive Medicine at the University of Southampton, who was not involved in the study, said: ‘The embryo (early pregnancy) is very sensitive to its environment and it does not surprise me that a condition such as asthma, and its associated treatment(s), will impact on the growth, development and longer-term outcomes of the baby.’
Certain experts have criticised the study’s findings, saying the approximate 5,000-person trial was too small, as well as noting the participants self-reported their asthma, which reduces the accuracy of their diagnoses.
‘Asthma medications are safe’
Speaking of the results, Professor Mina Gaga, president of the European Respiratory Society, who was not involved in the investigation, said: ‘Asthma is a common condition but in the majority of cases it can be well-controlled with the right medicines.
‘Women who are trying to conceive and women who are already pregnant are naturally concerned about the effects of their medicines, although there are large studies showing that asthma medications are safe, in fact safer than not taking medication.
‘This large study provides reassurance that using preventers, which include inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilators, to prevent asthma symptoms helps asthmatic women be as fertile as non-asthmatic women, while intermittent treatment with short acting relievers is associated with reduced fertility.’
Relying on relievers also causes women to take 20 percent longer to become pregnant (stock)
How the research was carried out
The researchers analysed women from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland who were in the early stages of pregnancy with their first child.
The study’s participants were asked if they had been diagnosed with asthma and, if so, what medications they took.
They were also asked how long it took them to become pregnant.
Of the participants, more than 10 per cent claimed to have asthma.
The findings were published in the European Respiratory Journal.