Association of Cigarette Consumption and Mucosal Thickening in the Paranasal Sinuses on MRI

To investigate the impact of cigarette consumption on mucosal thickening in paranasal sinuses and the relationships of smoking-related factors and dental status with mucosal thickening at different maxillary sinus locations using MRI.

This retrospective study investigated 1094 paranasal sinuses on MRIs by correlating mucosal thickening with smoking-related factors. Presence/absence of maxillary posterior teeth was correlated with mucosal thickening on the maxillary sinus floor and other sinus locations.

Compared with nonsmokers, current and former smokers exhibited similarly more mucosal thickening in the maxillary (58.9%/62.8% vs 38.3%, P < .01) and ethmoid (22.7%/17.1% vs 6.6%, P < .01) sinuses, but not in the sphenoid sinus (P = .08) and similarly more mucosal thickening on the medial/superior walls of the maxillary sinus (40.4%/41.5% vs 18.4%, P < .01). Patients with mucosal thickening in the maxillary and ethmoid sinuses had greater daily cigarette consumption and years of smoking than those without mucosal thickening in these sinuses (P < .01). Edentulous individuals had more mucosal thickening on the maxillary sinus floor compared to dentate individuals (43.7% vs 32.2%, P < .01).

Cigarette consumption is associated with increased mucosal thickening in paranasal sinuses, with a dose-response association. This thickening may be persistent after quitting smoking. Cigarette smoking may have a more pronounced impact on the sinus mucosa in areas near the primary maxillary ostium, while dental status may be more likely to affect that on the maxillary sinus floor.