Common Causes And Risk Factors Of A Pneumothorax

Genetics

An individual who has certain genetic features or abnormalities may be at an increased risk of developing a pneumothorax. The gene associated with genetic pneumothorax is referred to as the FLCN gene. Currently, eight different mutations in the FLCN gene are known to increase an individual's chances of a primary spontaneous pneumothorax. The FLCN gene is responsible for providing an individual's body with the encoded instructions for how to make a protein referred to as folliculin.

Folliculin is a known tumor suppressor and also plays a significant role in rebuilding, reforming, and repairing tissues in the lungs that have become damaged. A shortage of this protein in states of inflammation can cause the development of air pockets in an affected individual's lungs that eventually rupture and leak air into the pleural space. Approximately forty percent of individuals affected by one of these eight FLCN gene mutations will go on to experience pneumothorax.

Age And Gender

An individual's age group and gender can put them at a higher risk of a pneumothorax than those in other age groups and of another gender. A primary spontaneous pneumothorax is most prevalent among individuals between fifteen and thirty-four years old. Children under ten years old can be at a greater risk of developing a pneumothorax if they are affected by certain conditions that include echinococcosis, foreign object inhalation, measles, and certain congenital malformations. A child may also be at an increased risk of developing a pneumothorax if they have a family member who has had a pneumothorax previously.

Men are more likely than women to experience a pneumothorax overall. Women who do develop a pneumothorax tend to be at least thirty years old, whereas men who develop a pneumothorax tend to be between twenty and twenty-five years old. An explanation for this discrepancy between genders and age groups may be associated with endometriosis-related pneumothorax that tends to occur later in the childbearing years.