Impact of gender, age, and comorbidities on quality of life in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.
BACKGROUND
To evaluate the impact of gender, age and comorbidities of health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) assessments in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.


METHODS
The prospective administration of the German Adapted Version of the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 20 (SNOT-20 GAV) to patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. Two hundred and two patients with chronic rhinosinusitis filled out the questionnaire before functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) and again at the 3-month follow-up.


RESULTS
Gender had a significant impact on the Overall Score (OS) and on the General Quality of Life Score (GQOL) of the SNOT-20 GAV but no influence on the disease-specific scores of 'Primary Nasal Symptoms' (PNS) and 'Secondary Rhinogenous Symptoms' (SRS). Age did not influence HR-QOL. Patients with comorbidities demonstrated lower HR-QOL scores.


CONCLUSIONS
Women had significantly poorer QOL scores than men. It seems that the influence of gender reflects general HR-QOL views rather than illness-related expectations.
Baumann
Ingo
I
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Germany. ingo.baumann@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Blumenstock
Gunnar
G
Zalaman
Ilse M
IM
Praetorius
Mark
M
Klingmann
Christoph
C
Sittel
Christian
C
Plinkert
Peter K
PK
Piccirillo
Jay F
JF
D000367:Age Factors; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000453:epidemiology*