Gender and asthma

To understand the influence of gender on asthma, the interaction of gender with the natural history of asthma should be examined. The authors discuss how selected factors influence the biologic susceptibility to disease, triggering of preexisting asthma, and the management of disease. Examination of the factors that are known to influence asthma leads to the conclusion that gender can influence most of these relationships and can help clarify and expand the existing knowledge of the natural history of disease.