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 Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), or long-lasting sinus swelling, is
often caused by infection, growths in the sinuses or nose injury and
can seriously affect people’s quality of life, the study team writes
in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
In addition to facial pain and difficulty breathing through the
nose, CRS can cause emotional symptoms like depression, the
researchers add, and treatment in the future may need to focus more
on these issues.
“We found that it was more severe depression symptoms that were
associated with missing work or school due to CRS,” said senior
author Dr. Ahmad Sedaghat, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical
School in Boston.
“These findings were extremely surprising because none of the
symptoms typically associated with sinusitis were associated with
patients missing work or school,” Sedaghat told Reuters Health by
email.
More than 12 percent of U.S. adults have chronic sinusitis,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lost productivity due to missed work or school, or to showing up
while sick, as well as lost productivity at home because of
sinusitis are estimated at $10,000 per patient each year, the
authors write.
To determine which symptoms are linked with missed work or school
days, the study team collected data on 107 adults living with
chronic sinus problems.
The participants completed questionnaires asking about sleep
disturbance, nasal issues, ear or face pain and emotional
functioning. They also rated their symptom severity and completed
specific screens for nasal congestion and depression.
The researchers asked participants how many days of work or school
they had missed in the past three months because of CRS. On average,
the answer was three days.
But people who reported more emotional symptoms were significantly
more likely to have missed work days, compared to people without
these symptoms.
Having more ear or face pain or more nasal symptoms was not linked
to missing days of work or school compared to people without those
symptoms.
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Even patients missing out on sleep because of their sinus problems
were not any more likely to have lost productivity, researchers
found.
While it is difficult to determine whether CRS actually causes
depression, the many symptoms of the disease may affect patients’
ability to cope with the daily activities of life, said Jess Mace, a
senior research associate at Oregon Health and Science University in
Portland.
“Patients should understand that receiving a diagnosis of CRS may
increase the likelihood of lowering emotional status over time,”
Mace, who was not involved in the study, said by email.
“Understanding that and working proactively with your doctor to
identify symptoms of depression and pursuing early treatment, if
necessary, may help many patients experience better treatment
outcomes and a higher quality of life,” he said.
If someone you know has chronic sinus problems, it is important to
be aware that depression symptoms may be impacting their life,
Sedaghat said.
“Our findings now suggest that depression may also be a very
specific driver of missed work or school due to CRS and seeking out
treatment of depression will not only lead to a significant
improvement in quality of life, but it may also improve productivity
in the setting of this chronic condition,” Sedaghat said.
SOURCE: bit.ly/2mLKB9R Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology,
March 2017.
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