Objectives To assess the use of asthma drugs by men and women with ast
hma and to identify sex specific predictors for the use of oral steroi
ds. Design Cross sectional study Setting Six general practices in East
Anglia. Subjects 103 men and 134 women aged 20-54 with asthma. Main o
utcome measures Self reported use of beta agonists, inhaled steroids,
and oral steroids. Results No sex difference was found in use of beta
agonists or inhaled steroids. However a strong association existed bet
ween sex and oral steroid use. 40 (30%) women reported using oral ster
oids compared with nine (9%) men. Women were more than five times (odd
s ratio = 5.5, 95% confidence interval 2.2 to 13.7) more likely to rep
ort use of oral steroids than men after asthma symptoms, age, visits t
o the general practitioner in previous six months, and time since diag
nosis of asthma were controlled for. Women who had visited the general
practitioner for asthma one or more times in the previous six months
were four times (3.9, 1.6 to 9.5) as likely to report use of oral ster
oids. In addition, more frequent visits to the general practitioner fo
r asthma were related in a dose-response manner to a greater likelihoo
d of using oral steroids among women after asthma symptoms, age, and t
ime since diagnosis were controlled for. This relation was not observe
d among men. Conclusion Women used oral steroids more than men. The mo
re frequent consultations with a doctor by women may result in more re
quests for oral steroids or doctors may preferentially prescribe oral
steroids to women.