Age and Menopausal Status in Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of age on disease recurrence in idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS) patients.

Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of iSGS patients treated with laser wedge excision. Patients did not have prior surgery. Survival rates free of recurrence were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier methods, and associations were evaluated using Cox Proportional Hazards models.

Results: Eighty-five female patients were included in the study. Most patients (68%) were postmenopausal, had first period at or before 13 years of age, had at least one full-term pregnancy (82%), were not undergoing hormone replacement therapy (93%), were not using hormonal birth control (88%), and were either partially or completely compliant with triple therapy regime (80%). There was a statistically significant average reduction in risk of recurrence of 5% for every additional year of age (p < 0.0001). When compared to patients older than 65 years of age, patients less than 35 were nearly 10 times more likely to recur (p = 0.002), and patients 55-65 and 45-55 years of age were 8 and 5 times more likely to recur, respectively (p = 0.003 and 0.009). Additionally, females on birth control showed decreased risk of recurrence of 74% compared with their counterparts (p = 0.04).

Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate an inverse relationship between age and disease recurrence in patients with iSGS following surgery. Using age as a surrogate for menopausal status, these results suggest that increased age and/or birth control provide a protective effect through decreased recurrence rates, possibly mediated by decreased estrogen levels.

Level of evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 135:198-205, 2025.

Keywords: Age; birth control; estrogen; hormones; menopause; subglottic stenosis.