Longitudinal improvement in nasal obstruction symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis directly associates with improvement in mood

The effects of nasal obstruction in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) are associated with depressed mood. We sought to validate this finding by determining whether improvement in nasal obstruction would translate to improvement in depressed mood. This was a prospective observational study of 150 patients undergoing medical management for CRS. Data were collected at two timepoints: enrollment and a subsequent follow-up visit 3–12 months later. Impact of nasal obstruction was measured using the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) instrument and depressed mood was measured using the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2). Sinonasal symptoms associated with CRS were also measured using the 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22). Clinical and demographic characteristics were collected. The relationship between changes in PHQ-2 and NOSE scores was determined with correlation and linear regression. Change in PHQ-2 score was significantly correlated with change in NOSE score (ρ = 0.30, p