Williamsburg Sun

• Research has found that inflammation, which comes with chronic sinusitis, can alter brain activity.
• This can cause symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and depression.
• In older patients, chronic sinusitis has been linked to dementia.

Dr. John Ditto of Richmond Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers said chronic sinusitis can negatively affect patients' cognitive abilities and overall well-being, but he has found that once the sinusitis is treated, the cognitive symptoms improve as well. 

"I've witnessed that when patients are not suffering from their chronic sinusitis symptoms, their cognitive ability has improved," Ditto told Williamsburg Sun. "You can tell when they come back in the office that there's a brightness to their demeanor. Some of them even told me that they're exercising more. And their well-being is just improved. You can see that when they return to the office."

A study conducted by University of Washington School of Medicine found that chronic sinusitis, which affects approximately 11% of American adults, causes inflammation that is linked to changes in brain activity. These changes can cause patients to experience depression and have difficulty concentrating.

Dr. Kristina Simonyan, a coauthor of the study, said examining brain scans of patients revealed that "subjective feelings of attention decline, difficulties (in focusing) 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. It is also possible that we might have detected the early markers of a cognitive decline where sinus inflammation acts as a predisposing trigger or predictive factor."

In addition to physical symptoms -- such as congestion, facial pain and headaches -- some studies have found a link between chronic sinusitis and neurodegeneration in older patients, according to the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Researchers have found that the cognitive impairment caused by chronic sinusitis could perpetuate the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's is the leading cause of dementia, and it can cause progressive memory loss and personality changes.

One surgical treatment option for chronic sinusitis sufferers is balloon sinuplasty. A balloon sinuplasty procedure takes only 10 to 15 minutes, and patients typically recover within one to two days. Most patients can resume their normal activities in that time period, although they may experience some swelling for up to a week, according to Eisemann Plastic Surgery Center.

To learn more about the symptoms of sinusitis and allergies, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.