What Is the Role of Sex-Related Differences in the Effectiveness and Safety of Biological Drugs Used in Patients With Severe Asthma?

Abstract

Biological drugs are used to treat severe asthma with an improvement of clinical symptoms. Data on sex difference of these drugs in patients with severe asthma are sparse. This study aimed to assess the effects of sex-related differences on biological drugs in patients with severe asthma. In this observational, open-label, prospective, noncontrolled, single-center cohort pilot study, we enrolled adult patients aged >18years diagnosed with severe asthma and not previously treated with biological drugs. The first clinical end point was the statistical difference (P<.05) in the efficacy of biological drugs evaluated using the asthma control test and spirometry between sexes. The first safety end point was the statistical difference (P<.05) in developing adverse drug reactions between sexes. We enrolled 74 patients with severe asthma (48 women and 26 men) with a mean age of 59.4 (standard deviation, 11.8) years. The mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second was 6.9 (standard deviation, 13.9) for women and 9.4 (standard deviation, 10.7) for men and improved significantly after the treatment (P<.01), with no significant differences in sex (P=.8). Similarly, the asthma control test improved 12months after the beginning of the treatment without significant differences between men and women (P=.5). The most common drug used was omalizumab (45.9% of the patients; P<.01) without significant differences between sex (P>.05). We did not observe the development of adverse drug reactions during the study. In conclusion, in asthmatic patients, sex does not have a role in either the effectiveness or safety of biological drugs.