Diagnosing asthma in adults
Jasmine is one of a growing number of Canadian women who first develop asthma as an adult. The disease affects about 1.8 million women and girls in Canada, and the rate among adults has more than tripled over the past 25 years. About one in 10 new cases are diagnosed in adults. While asthma is more common in boys than girls, after puberty it affects more women than men.
Not only are women more likely to develop the condition, but their response is also more likely to be severe. "Women are seen in the emergency room for asthma twice as often as men, and they are admitted to hospital two to three times as often," says Dr. Anna Day, a respirologist and director of the Gender, Asthma and COPD Program at Women's College Hospital in Toronto.
Recognizing warning signs
Like Jasmine, many women who develop asthma as adults don't think they're at risk and fail to recognize the warning signs. "I assumed you either had asthma as a kid or you didn't get it. I wish I had known more," she says.
Because adult-onset asthma is becoming more prevalent and the condition is often more severe in women, every woman needs to know the signs, symptoms and risk factors associated with the disease. Women can then use this knowledge to reduce their risk of developing asthma and, if they do get it, put the disease in its place so it doesn't interfere with their lives.
Anyone who develops asthma asks, Why me? Once Jasmine was properly diagnosed and treated, she began to understand the possible causes and contributing factors to the onset of the disease. "In diagnosing asthma, it's important to do a good history," says Dr. Ken Chapman, director of the Asthma and Airway Centre at the University Health Network in Toronto.
Your medical history could point to asthma
Jasmine's history revealed a number of key risk factors, starting with her genetic allergic predisposition. She is allergic to cats and dogs, suffers from mild spring and fall hay fever and developed eczema as a teenager. With two cats at home, she was constantly exposed to environmental allergens.
That she was exposed to cigarette smoke -- a toxic brew of chemical irritants -- was another risk factor. Jasmine had smoked for a few years as a teenager and all her life was exposed to secondhand smoke through her family. The final trigger may have been the bad chest cold that she developed prior to her first asthma attack.
"Sometimes asthma seems to develop following a respiratory infection," says Dr. Louis-Philippe Boulet, a respirologist at Laval Hospital in Quebec City.
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