Sex differences in the lung function in chronic obstructive lung disease

Abstract

For many years, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been considered a disease of men, with a higher prevalence in men than in women. Recent data, however, report a significant change in the sexual profile of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The influence of the female sex on the development, progression, and outcome of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is becoming increasingly apparent from the accumulation of data on sex and gender in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease studies. Objective — to evaluate sex differences in lung function, severity, and evolutionary types in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Materials and methods. A clinical study was conducted on 236 patients aged 40 to 75 years with exacerbation of COPD GOLD stages II—IV. The patients were examined clinically and paraclinically according to the 2017 GOLD guidelines. The degree of respiratory impairment was assessed using spirometry, and a digital X-ray examination of the chest was performed.Results and discussion. Based on the data of a questionnaire survey of 236 patients with COPD, the following distribution was obtained: women who never smoked — 29.7 %; current smokers among women — 46.9 %; and former smokers among women at the time of the study — 39.1 %. These percentages were generally the same for both sexes, although for subjects aged 40 to 59, smoking was more common in women than in men.Conclusions. Women differ both in terms of clinical manifestations of symptoms, and exacerbations and radiological manifestations. Women with COPD have more dyspnea than men with the same degree of airway obstruction. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD in women, and the risk increases with the number and duration of cigarette use.