No Association Seen for Menopause With Chronic Rhinosinusitis

FRIDAY, Feb. 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Menopause is not associated with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), while estrogen-containing contraceptive use is associated with reduced odds of CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP), according to a study published in the February issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Abraham Ahn, from the University of Illinois Chicago, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional analysis using a national dataset of adults from the All of Us Research Program to examine the association of menopause and systemic hormonal contraceptive (SHC) use with both CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and CRSsNP. The study used data from 239,564 participants.

The researchers observed no significant difference in the odds of CRS for postmenopausal participants versus premenopausal patients (odds ratio, 1.02; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.94 to 1.11). Progestin-only contraceptives were not associated with CRS compared with no SHC use, while the odds of CRSsNP were lower in association with estrogen-containing contraceptive use (odds ratio, 0.71; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.64 to 0.80), but the odds of CRSwNP were not lower (odds ratio, 0.82; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.51 to 1.25). Among participants without CRS and among those with CRSsNP, estrogen-containing contraceptive use was associated with decreased serum neutrophil concentration (β = −1.29 and −1.66, respectively) compared with no SHC use.

“Ultimately, this work has the potential to improve risk stratification and inform hormone-related therapy recommendations for women with CRS,” senior author Victoria S. Lee, M.D., also from the University of Illinois Chicago, said in a statement.

Abstract/Full Text