• Sinusitis has been linked to changes in brain activity
• There is a correlation to mood changes; 41% of patients suffer from depression
• Endoscopic sinus surgery or balloon sinuplasty showed improvements in cognitive abilities
New findings suggest that chronic sinusitis may have profound effects on neural processing, affecting mental stability, depression, cognition and awareness, according to Dr. Matt Hershcovitch of SoCal Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers.
“Unfortunately for people with chronic sinusitis, they have the symptoms all the time. It leads to significant mental and cognitive difficulties and anguish,” Hershcovitch told LA Harbor News. “I’ve had more senior patients come to me for their headaches and facial pain and ask about the onset of dementia. However, when I converse with them and examine them, they have no sign of dementia and it’s actually just their perceived cognitive deficit because they can’t concentrate on things for very long because of their headaches. So there is a very, very real link between these problems.”
There have been several tests recently measuring cognitive issues and fatigue, while another study published in the International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology found that chronic sinusitis often affects a range of mental issues, including objective cognitive functions.
Researchers have found that chronic sinusitis and sino-nasal inflammation can affect a patient’s quality of life, according to Physician’s Weekly, which also found that chronic sinusitis can be linked to mental stability. Forty-one percent of chronic sinusitis patients have found to be suffering from depression.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic sinusitis affects about 29 million Americans, which accounts for 11% of the adult population in the country. Symptoms include blocked nasal passages, headache, sinus pressure headache and nasal inflammation.
A key treatment option is endoscopic sinus surgery or balloon sinuplasty, according to the International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, which revealed that many patients often see improved cognitive activity after undergoing 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.
