Association between air pollution and chronic rhinosinusitis: a nested case-control study using meteorological data and national health screening cohort data

Background: Inconsistent results about the effect of air pollution on chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) have been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of meteorological conditions/air pollution on the prevalence of CRS in adult Koreans. Methodology: The data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort from 2002 through 2015 were used. A CRS group (defined as ICD-10 codes J32, n=6159) was matched with a control group (n=24,636) in 1:4 ratios by age, sex, income, and region of residence. The meteorological conditions and air pollution data included the daily mean, highest, and lowest temperature (degrees C), daily temperature range (degrees C), relative humidity (%), ambient atmospheric pressure (hPa), sunshine duration (hr), and the rainfall (mm), SO2 (ppm), NO2 (ppm), O-3 (ppm), CO (ppm), and PM10 (mu g/m(3)) levels before the CRS diagnosis. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CRS were analyzed using logistic regression analyses. Results: When the NO2 level increased by 0.1 ppm, the odds for CRS increased 5.40 times, and when the CO level increased by 1 ppm and PM10 increased by 10 mu g/m(3), the odds for CRS decreased 0.75 times and 0.93 times, respectively. Other meteorological conditions, such as the mean/highest/lowest temperature, temperature range, rainfall and other air pollution, such as SO2 and O-3, were not statistically significant. NO2 for 90 days before the index date increased the risk of CRS in all subgroups, except for the nasal polyp and older age subgroups. Conclusion: CRS is related to high concentrations of NO2.