Inhalers may make women fat but not men

Scientists believe there is a link between breathing in the drugs and piling on pounds

Using inhalers may make women obese, says a recent study. Filled with corticosteroids, scientists believe there is a link between breathing in the drugs and piling on the pounds, reported Daily Mail.

But squirting the life-saving gadget only increases the risk of metabolic syndrome in women, data of more than 140,000 adults shows. The umbrella term covers a range of conditions, such as high blood pressure, excess fat around the waist and high blood sugar. This increases the risk of heart disease – the world's leading killer, type 2 diabetes and other conditions affecting the blood vessels in the body.



On their own, the conditions can potentially damage the blood vessels, but having all three together is particularly dangerous, experts say. Corticosteroids are widely used anti-inflammatory medications that come in the form of tablets, nasal sprays, inhalers, injections and creams. In their inhaled form, they are most often used to relieve symptoms of asthma and other respiratory diseases.

Users of the gadgets, deemed to be safe by medical experts across the world, have increased remarkably in the past decades. But the new research from the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, suggests they have a much more sinister effect.

Study author Dr Elisabeth van Rossum confirmed, “Our findings suggest that inhaled corticosteroids may have greater systemic effects than recognised. This could warrant stricter monitoring of these adverse effects and potentially more restraint in prescriptions of this type of medication, especially in women at risk of the metabolic syndrome.”

To test their effects, the researchers used data from 140,879 adults. Slightly more than one in every 10 adults used the corticosteroids, with 50% of those using inhaled forms. Participants were quizzed about their use of the drugs and were checked for any signs of metabolic syndrome. Women who used inhalers and nasal sprays had a 1.4-fold increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

However, male users had no higher risk, according to the findings presented at the Endocrine Society's 99th annual meeting in Orlando. Both genders who had used other forms of the drugs had a 1.1-fold increased likelihood of having metabolic syndrome.



Corticosteroid users were also found to be more obese than those who didn't rely on the drugs.
Women using inhalers had nearly a point higher BMI (0.86 kg/m2) than those who didn't take the drugs.
Those of both genders who stuck to tablet, cream and injected forms of the drug had an increased BMI of 0.31 kg/m2.

However, the researchers were unable to pinpoint why corticosteroids caused any obesity effects.
And they were clear to point out that further research that monitors users of the drugs over time is needed.

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