Frailty as a Risk Factor for Chronic Sinusitis: Insights from a Nationwide Cross-sectional Survey

• Published in: The Laryngoscope 2024-11
• Main Authors: Chen, Han, Wang, Lin, Zhang, Jisheng, Yan, Xudong, Yu, Longgang, Jiang, Yan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0023-852X; 1531-4995; 1531-4995
• DOI: 10.1002/lary.31924

This study aimed to investigate the connection between frailty and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) using a representative sample from the Korean population. This cross-sectional study included 24,269 participants initially, with data sourced from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) database. Frailty was assessed using the modified frailty phenotype (FP) and frailty index (FI), with criteria tailored for the KNHANES dataset. CRS was identified based on the self-reported medical history of participants. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to examine the correlation between CRS and frailty. The prevalence of CRS among frail individuals was higher than that in the non-frail group. Frailty status (assessed by FP) (odds ratio [OR] = 1.484, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.217, 1.809) and frailty status (assessed by FI) (OR = 1.571, 95% CI: 1.107, 2,230) were associated with an elevated risk of CRS, particularly in individuals aged 40-60 years (OR = 1.826, 95% CI: 1.245, 2.680) and ≥61 years (OR = 1.549, 95% CI: 1.067, 2.249), as well as those with an education level below high school (OR = 1.717, 95% CI: 1.124, 2.624). The heightened risk of CRS associated with frailty may be attributed to increased levels of slowness (OR = 1.606, 95% CI: 1.255, 2.054) and emotional exhaustion (OR = 1.363, 95% CI: 1.158, 1.604). This study supported a link between frailty and CRS, potentially induced by slowness and emotional exhaustion, suggesting that effective interventions for preventing frailty should be developed to manage CRS incidence. Level 3 Laryngoscope, 2024.