Anxiety and depression in patients with nasal septal deviation

Nasal septal deviation (NSD) has a significant impact on patients' quality of life; however, there have been limited studies examining the psychological status of NSD patients. In this study, symptoms of depression and anxiety were investigated between NSD patients and controls using a self-report questionnaire.

A case-control study design was used to evaluate the psychological burden of NSD in patients who visited the general hospital. The control group comprised of ENT outpatients without a history of chronic nasal disease. The Zung Self-rating Anxiety/Depression Scale (SDS/SAS) was used to evaluate the prevalence and severity of anxiety and depression between the NSD and control group.

Seventy-six patients with NSD and 79 control patients were enrolled in the study. We found that depression and anxiety, as well as the co-morbidity of depression with anxiety, were more common in the NSD group in comparison to the control (39.5% vs 22.8%, p = 0.025; 38.2% vs 15.2%, p = 0.001; and 27.6% vs 11.4%, p = 0.011, respectively). The average SDS and SAS score was higher in NSD patients compared to controls (SDS: 49.7 ± 13.1 vs 45.2 ± 10.4, p = 0.019 and SAS: 48.1 ± 11.6 vs 41.3 ± 9.3, p < 0.001, respectively), and NSD patients were found to have more severe levels of anxiety and depression.

Depression and anxiety are more common and severe in patients with NSD. Therefore, psychological distress should be taken into consideration during the diagnostic and therapeutic process for patients with NSD.