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Microscopic colitis (MC) often debuts around or after menopause and is divided into lymphocytic- and collagenous colitis. The aim of this study was to examine whether factors influencing sex hormone levels differed between subgroups of MC as well as between patients and controls. A self-administered questionnaire about parity was completed which included questions surrounding age at first childbirth, menarche and menopause, the use of oral contraceptives, and hormonal replacement therapy. Patients with lymphocytic colitis had children less often compared to those with collagenous colitis (OR = 0.20, 95% CI = 0.05–0.86), however no differences were observed between patients with persistent or transient disease. Patients were less often older than 15 years of age at menarche (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.26–0.91) and were younger at menopause (OR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.16–0.56) compared with controls. Thus, no obvious association between factors influencing sex hormone levels and presence of MC could be found.

Patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders express antibodies against gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in serum. One common cause of posterior laryngitis (PL) is extra-esophageal reflux, but a functional etiology has also been suggested. The aim of this study was to scrutinize patients with PL with regard to the presence of GnRH antibodies and to examine the association between antibodies and symptoms and reflux. Consecutive PL patients were included after examination. Serum was analyzed for the presence of antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method and expressed as relative units (RU). Two age- and gender-matched healthy subjects per case served as controls. The prevalence of IgM GnRH antibodies in patients was 35% compared with 28% in controls ( P = 0.06), with higher levels in patients (0.8 (0.3–2.2) RU) than in controls (0.2 (0.1–0.6) RU) ( P = 0.007). The corresponding IgG antibody prevalences were 43% and 4%, respectively ( P = 0.001), with no difference in levels ( P = 0.70). There was no association between antibodies and clinical findings.