Table 4

 Asthma and hay fever in women according to HRT use stratified by BMI in tertiles

No HRT(%)HRT(%)OR (95% CI)*p value
*From logistic regression models with adjustment for smoking habits, BMI (within tertile), age, centre, and type of dwelling (as a proxy for social class).
†Asthma medication and/or asthma attacks in the last 12 months.
‡Wheeze in the last 12 months.
§Hay fever or nasal allergies.
**Interaction in effect of HRT on asthma between lean and normal/overweight women pinteraction = 0.020.
††Interaction in effect of HRT on wheeze between lean and normal/overweight women pinteraction = 0.026.
‡‡Interaction in effect of HRT on hay fever between lean and normal/overweight women pinteraction = 0.076.
Lower tertile BMI <22.76 (n = 716)
    Asthma†5.312.02.28 (1.18 to 4.40)**0.014
    Wheeze‡14.925.81.85 (1.16 to 2.96)††0.010
    Hay fever§20.729.72.06 (1.33 to 3.19)‡‡0.001
Medium tertile BMI 22.76–25.71 (n = 736)
    Asthma†5.66.31.28 (0.61 to 2.71)**0.513
    Wheeze‡15.019.71.56 (0.95 to 2.54)††0.076
    Hay fever§23.125.31.20 (0.79 to 1.84)‡‡0.395
Upper tertile BMI >25.71 (n = 709)
    Asthma†10.612.41.31 (0.71 to 2.42)**0.382
    Wheeze‡24.126.71.28 (0.80 to 2.06)††0.302
    Hay fever§25.026.91.39 (0.89 to 2.17)‡‡0.153