Does menopause effect nasal mucociliary clearance time?

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of menopause on nasal mucociliary clearance time by comparing the results of premenopausal and postmenopausal women. A total of 60 women met the criteria and were divided into two groups: premenopausal women (n = 30) and postmenopausal women (n = 30). Nasal mucociliary clearance time of these women was measured and compared. Moreover, the correlation between nasal mucociliary clearance time and menopause duration in postmenopausal women was evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 13.0 Evaluation for Windows. Normal distribution of continuous variables was tested with Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Chi square test was used for comparisons between categorical variables. Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for continuous variables when comparing the groups. The statistically significant level was accepted as p value <0.05. The mean nasal mucociliary clearance time in premenopausal and postmenopausal women was 11.43 ± 2.81 (7-16) and 16.76 ± 2.73 (12-22), respectively. The mean nasal mucociliary clearance time in postmenopausal women was significantly longer than in premenopausal women (p < 0.0001). Also, there was positive correlation between menopause duration and nasal mucociliary clearance time in postmenopausal women (r = 0.833, p < 0.0001). The clinicians must keep in mind that nasal mucociliary clearance time in postmenopausal women is prolonged and must follow up women in postmenopausal period more closely for respiratory tract diseases, sinonasal and middle ear infections.