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Does pregnancy have an influence on otosclerosis?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2021

C Fabbris ,
G Molteni ,
N Tommasi  and
D Marchioni
C Fabbris*
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, Verona, Italy
G Molteni
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, Verona, Italy
N Tommasi
Affiliation:
Interdepartmental Centre of Economical Documentation, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
D Marchioni
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, Verona, Italy
*
Author for correspondence: Dr C Fabbris, Department of Otolaryngology, University Hospital of Verona, Piazzale Aristide Stefani 1, Verona 37126, Italy E-mail: cristoforo.fabbris@gmail.com Fax: +39 045 812 2070
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Abstract

Objective

Otosclerosis affects women twice as often as men, especially during fertile age. A role of female hormones has been claimed, but controversy still exists regarding the influence of pregnancy. The purpose of this research was to analyse the role of pregnancy on the course of otosclerosis.

Method

PubMed was searched in May 2019 using the terms ‘otosclerosis AND pregnancy’, ‘otosclerosis AND pregnant’, ‘otosclerosis AND parous’, ‘otosclerosis AND parity’, and ‘otosclerosis AND puerperium’. Age at diagnosis, number of pregnancies and the temporal relationship of the disease with childbearing were considered.

Results

From 65 articles, 11 were chosen for review. They described 2323 women affected by otosclerosis: 1805 had at least 1 pregnancy, while 518 did not. During childbearing, otosclerosis began in 1 per cent of pregnant women, worsened in 21 per cent and worsened during puerperium in 4 per cent. Often, the authors reported hearing change with pregnancy without details, so a further group has been considered composed of women belonging to any of the groups just mentioned or to another group of women not further characterised. Overall, hearing change occurred during pregnancy in 44 per cent. A statistically significant correlation emerged between hearing change and number of pregnancies (p = 0.003).

Conclusion

Because of wide data heterogeneity and the difficulty in analysing a single factor, absolute statements could not be formulated. According to this review, pregnancy seems to have a worsening effect on the course of otosclerosis.

Keywords

OtosclerosisPregnancyHearing Loss

Information

Type
Review Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 136 , Issue 3 , March 2022 , pp. 191 - 196
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of J.L.O. (1984) LIMITED.

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Footnotes

Dr C Fabbris takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

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