Menopausal women have more lung risk

BERGEN, Norway, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Women in menopause, especially lean women, are associated with lower lung function and more respiratory symptoms, a Norwegian study found.

Dr. Francisco Gomez Real of the University of Bergen, Norway, and colleagues studied a group of women ages 45 to 56 years who were not taking sex hormones. The women provided information about their lung health, menstrual history and the body mass index.

The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found women who had stopped menstruating had significantly lower lung function and more respiratory symptoms than women of the same age who were menstruating regularly.

Real speculates that lower lung function in menopausal women -- especially those under a BMI less than 23 -- could be explained by increased insulin resistance in menopause -- because insulin resistance is a pro-inflammatory condition.