ERS calls for greater focus on increase in respiratory diseases among women

The European Respiratory Society published an advocacy statement on International Women’s Day calling for greater awareness and focus on the increase in respiratory diseases in women.

In the statement, the ERS highlights “a disturbing increase in many respiratory diseases among women.”

Previous research has demonstrated gender is an important factor for the incidence of respiratory diseases, susceptibility and severity, and it also influences key areas of research, lung health, and health care access and delivery. For example, women have a higher prevalence, mortality and likelihood of developing asthma and also developing pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The ERS advocacy statement also highlights:

• significant gender differences in COPD clinical expression resulting from environmental, behavioral, genetic and biophysiological factors;
• differences in intensive care that may suggest the requirement of multidirectional understanding of gender on such outcomes;
• differences in risk factors for lung diseases between genders; and
• differences in access in diagnostics and therapeutics due to gender inequalities impact in different areas of the world that depend on society, education, social class and health care access.

“More than ever, we need to consider the female aspects of respiratory disease. What are the factors behind women becoming more susceptible and experiencing more severe disease? Are societal or scientific factors more important? Do we need a special focus on the female respiratory system and lung?” according to the statement.

The ERS said it is “particularly concerned by the rise in respiratory disease in women” and calls for “a more intense focus at all levels to address this.”

The ERS made the following recommendations to address gender differences in respiratory disease:

• faster promotion of research regarding respiratory disease in women;
• implemention of sex-, gender- and diversity-sensitive best practices and guidelines for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of respiratory disease;
• new approaches to sex and gender at varying levels — medical training, drug development, basic research, for example;
• effective calibration of the latest advances in precision medicine and digital health to address respiratory disease in women; and
• accelerated inclusion of more women at higher respiratory medicine levels.

Read the full ERS advocacy statement and a longer paper that complements the new European Respiratory Review series on sex- and gender-related factors in respiratory health here.