Gateway Reporter

• In a case-control study, participants with sinus inflammation showed decreased brain connectivity

• Chronic sinusitis was found to consistently restrict the mental faculties

• 41% of sufferers are more likely to suffer from depression

Dr. John Ditto of Richmond Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers agrees with new findings that suggest chronic sinusitis may have profound effects on neural processing, affecting mental stability, depression, cognition and awareness.

The Human Connectome Project, a research tool from a project that began in 2009 with 22 participants to evaluate chronic sinusitis patients' brain activity, provided data. The study, published in JAMA Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery, was case-controlled and found that sinus inflammation participants revealed decreased brain connectivity within a primary functional hub responsible for regulating cognition. 

“Chronic sinusitis can affect the rest of your health in multiple ways: One, it can impede your breathing, which will decrease your exercise tolerance,” Ditto told the Gateway Reporter. “Two: We know that there's some association with sleep apnea. Three: We know with chronic sinusitis that there is some association with mental health, including anxiety and depression.”

Conducting several tests, including Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire and fatigue measuring with the Fatigue Severity Scale, an International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology study concluded that chronic sinusitis consistently restricts the mental faculties in categories such as objective cognitive functions. 

According to Physician’s Weekly, it has been documented that sino-nasal inflammation and chronic rhinosinusitis considerably impact the patient's quality of life. Chronic sinusitis correlates with mental stability, and 41% of patients are more likely to suffer from depression.

According to Healthline, chronic sinusitis occurs due to an infection or exposure to a nasal allergy and includes symptoms such as nasal inflammation, blocked nasal passages, headache and sinus pressure headache. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that chronic sinusitis affects about 11% of U.S. adults, or nearly 29 million people.

Endoscopic sinus surgery and balloon sinuplasty have long been treatments for chronic sinusitis. A study from 2019, published in the International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, found that patients routinely showed improvements in cognitive abilities after having sinus surgery.

Sinusitis and migraines, without a doubt, have an impact on quality of life. Now there is a way to measure the severity of the disease.