Hoosier State Today

Chronic sinusitis may alter brain activity and cause individuals to experience difficulty focusing, depression and other symptoms.

"Sinusitis occurs when the linings of your nose, sinuses and throat become inflamed, possibly from a pre-existing cold or allergies," Dr. Nicholas Hollenkamp, Indianapolis Sinus Center, recently told Hoosier State Today. "Chronic sinusitis is when this inflammation lasts three months or more."

Individuals with chronic sinusitis typically suffer from stuffy noses and headaches, but new research published on JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery states that sinus inflammation can also alter brain activity, affecting individuals' cognition, introspection and response to external stimuli, reported UW Medicine.

“This is the first study that links chronic sinus inflammation with a neurobiological change,” Dr. Aria Jafari, surgeon and assistant professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine and lead author of the paper said. "We know from previous studies that patients who have sinusitis often decide to seek medical care not because they have a runny nose and sinus pressure, but because the disease is affecting how they interact with the world: They can't be productive, thinking is difficult, sleep is lousy. It broadly impacts their quality of life. Now we have a prospective mechanism for what we observe clinically.”

Despite the impact of sinus inflammation on brain activity, study-group participants showed no significant change in behavioral and cognitive testing, Dr. Kristina Simonyan, a study co-author said.

“The participants with moderate and severe sinus inflammation were young individuals who did not show clinically significant signs of cognitive impairment. However, their brain scans told us a different story: The subjective feelings of attention decline, difficulties to focus or sleep disturbances that a person with sinus inflammation experiences might be associated with subtle changes in how brain regions controlling these functions communicate with one another,” said Simonyan.

Sinusitis can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungus and allergies, according to Merck Manual.

Symptoms of sinusitis include yellow or green drainage from the nose, pressure and pain in the face, a stuffy nose, bad breath, coughing up mucus -- especially at night --  and sometimes fever and chills. 

Individuals are advised to see a doctor immediately if they suffer from these symptoms along with a severe headache, because the infection could have spread to your brain and cause meningitis.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 28.9 million American adults, or 11% of the adult population, suffer from the effects of chronic sinusitis. Treatment and surgery can address the issues, but symptoms also can recur. Chronic sinusitis is responsible for 4.1 million doctor visits and more than 230,000 emergency room visits in 2018.