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Epidemiology of Nasal Polyps

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Nasal Polyposis

Abstract

The prevalence of nasal polyps (NP) in the population has been grossly estimated as 1–4%. An association between NP and allergic rhinitis (AR) is weak, with NP prevalence in patients with AR estimated between 1.5 and 1.7% and this incidence approaches that of the general population. Large cohort studies have revealed a strong association between asthma and NP. The incidence of NP increases with age and is likely the greatest between 40 and 60 years of age. If NP are found in a child, a workup for cystic fibrosis should be conducted. Genetic inheritance has been proposed as a possible etiology of NP but remains unclear. Up to 50% of aspirin insensitive patients have NP and up to 36% of patients with NP may have some form of analgesic insensitivity. Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis is a known underlying pathophysiologic etiology in a subset of CRS patients and is strongly associated with NP. Ethnic and geographic variation has emerged as a potential modifier in NP pathophysiology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Searle 12-573, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Aaron N. Pearlman, Rakesh K. Chandra, David B. Conley & Robert C. Kern

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  1. Aaron N. Pearlman
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  2. Rakesh K. Chandra
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  3. David B. Conley
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  4. Robert C. Kern
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Correspondence to Robert C. Kern .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, 06100, Turkey

    T. Metin Önerci

  2. School of Medicine, Dept. Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Locust Street 1400, Pittsburgh, 15219, USA

    Berrylin J. Ferguson

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Pearlman, A.N., Chandra, R.K., Conley, D.B., Kern, R.C. (2010). Epidemiology of Nasal Polyps. In: Önerci, T., Ferguson, B. (eds) Nasal Polyposis. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11412-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11412-0_2

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