East Indy News

• 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. Anthony Sanders of Indianapolis Sinus Center is in agreement with new findings that suggest chronic sinusitis may have detrimental 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 selected to evaluate brain activity in chronic sinusitis patients, supplied the data. The case-control study, published in JAMA Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery, discovered that sinus inflammation participants showed decreased brain connectivity within a primary functional hub responsible for regulating cognition. 

“There have been a variety of associations with various health ailments that can directly be related to chronic sinusitis,” Sanders told East Indy News.

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 sinusitis considerably impact a 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 report 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 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.