Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps is associated with chronic otitis media in the elderly

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and chronic otitis media (COM) are common diseases in the otorhinolaryngology field. Although clinicians frequently encounter patients presenting both diseases simultaneously, a few studies have shown relationships between them. We examined whether CRS was associated with COM in adults who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2009 to 2012. A total of 27,492 participants were examined in this cross-sectional epidemiological study. Regression analyses was performed and adjusted for socio-demographics, general health behavior, and other comorbidities. All analyses used complex sampling designs; subgroup analyses were performed according to age, hearing loss, and the presence of cholesteatoma or nasal polyps. The weighted prevalence of COM and CRS was 3.6 ± 0.2 and 6.0 ± 0.2%, respectively. COM prevalence was significantly higher in subjects with CRS (5.1%) than in those without (3.5%). In the multivariate analysis, COM was more prevalent in subjects with CRS (adjusted odds ratio = 1.738; P = 0.038) after adjusting for other factors. The subgroup analysis showed that this association was significant only in older subjects (≥50 years) with nasal polyps. Non-serviceable hearing and cholesteatoma were not significantly associated with CRS. Our findings demonstrated that CRS with nasal polyps might be associated with COM in older patients.