Objectives/hypothesis: Air pollution has emerged as an important environmental risk factor for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) progression. This study assessed exposure to five types of air pollution (PM2.5/10 , SO2 , NO2 , CO, O3 ) and explored their effects on CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) severity and endotype.
Study design: Retrospective cohort study.
Methods: Air pollution data from monitoring sites in Beijing were obtained to assess individual air pollution exposure. Outcomes of CRSwNP (n = 282) including Lund-Mackay (L-M) score, Lund-Kennedy (L-K) score, visual analogue scale (VAS) score and nasal patency/airflow resistance and so on were measured to analyze correlations with air pollution and compare groups with different exposure types. Multivariable-adjusted binary logistic regression was used to determine potential air pollution risk factors of the endotype of eosinophilic CRSwNP (ECRSwNP).
Results: Short-term exposures to PM2.5/10 , SO2 , CO, NO2 , and O3 were weak but significantly associated with increased L-M scores. Short-term exposures to PM10 , CO, and NO2 were correlated with increased VAS headache/facial pain scores. The L-M scores of the group of the highest PM2.5 (≥150 μg/m3 ) exposure were significantly higher than those of control group. For each increased unit of the average concentration of PM2.5 , there was a 1.047-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.005-1.091) increased risk of the endotype of ECRSwNP.
Conclusions: Air pollution exposure exacerbated CRSwNP severity and PM2.5 could be a risk factor for endotype of ECRSwNP, suggesting the role of air pollution in CRSwNP pathogenesis.
Level of evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 132:2103-2110, 2022.
Keywords: Air pollution; chronic rhinosinusitis; endotype; nasal polyps; severity.
© 2021 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.