A new study has found that women have a greater risk of developing asthma than men.
This is because testosterone protects men against the condition, the Daily Mail reported.
"Testosterone probably has too many other effects to be used as a drug, but treatments are already in trials which may be more beneficial for women with asthma compared to men with asthma," lead author of the new research Dr Dawn Newcomb, told the Daily Mail.
Previous research had indicated that asthma is more common in women than men.
However, researchers at the University of Vanderbilt have discovered a type of immune cells linked to asthma that women have more of.
These particular cells produce proteins that causes an increased amount of mucus and inflammation in the lungs that leads to wheezing and breathlessness, the report revealed.
The findings helps answer the question of why young boys are more likely to have asthma till their teenage years.
"While we have known for some time that women are more likely to have asthma than men, this study is promising because it gives us a deeper understanding of the part that hormones play in the condition," Dr Samantha Walker, director of research and policy at Asthma UK, told the Daily Mail.
The findings could help researchers develop treatment for asthma in women.
The study, published in the journal Cell Reports.
