Menopause has same effect on lungs as smoking

GOING through the menopause impacts the lungs the same way as smoking 20 cigarettes a day for a decade. Experts say the change accelerates the decline in the lungs’ ability to expand and expel air.

This could make middlewomen who have come to the end of their menstrual cycle suffer from a shortness of breath and fatigue.

The problem is believed to be caused by falling levels of oestrogen.

The study – the first to look at lung function in post-menopausal women over the course of decades – raises the possibility that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) could be used to protect women from respiratory failure by boosting levels of hormones.

Lead author Kai Triebner, who conducted the research at the University of Bergen, Norway, said: “Our study highlights the importance of maintaining respiratory health long after the menopausal transition.”

It has previously been found the menopause raises the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, as well as leading to hot flushes and exhaustion.

Researchers examined 20 years of data on 1438 women from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

The study found menopausal women saw a fall in their forced vital capacity, a measure of lung size, comparable to the drop from smoking 20 cigarettes a day for a decade. When given lung-function tests to measure how much air they could forcefully expel in a second, the decline was similar to that of a smoker of 20 a day for two years.

Triebner said: “Whether obstructive or restrictive, the decline in lung function may cause an increase in shortness of breath, reduced work capacity and fatigue. Symptoms depend upon how much lung capacity is reduced, and a few women may actually develop respiratory failure as a result of this decline.”

Menopause is known to cause inflammation in the body, which can damage lung function. The fall in oestrogen can also cause osteoporosis.

The brittle-bone disease shortens the height of the chest vertebrae and may, in turn, limit the amount of air a person can inhale.

The findings were published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. – Daily Mail