Association between diurnal temperature range and sinusitis: a multi-city time-series analysis

This study aimed to examine the association between diurnal temperature range (DTR) and the risk of sinusitis, a common upper respiratory tract infection, using the Korean National Health Information Database (NHID). We extracted data on hospital visits for acute and chronic sinusitis from the NHID spanning 16 administrative regions of South Korea from 2006 to 2019. The relationship between DTR and hospital visits was examined using a two-stage analytical approach that incorporated generalised additive models and meta-analysis. Furthermore, subgroup analyses were conducted using sex, age group, mean temperature percentiles, and PM₁₀ concentration. We found associations between DTR and acute and chronic sinusitis with pooled relative risks of 1.0074 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0060-1.0089) and 1.0082 (95% CI: 1.0064-1.0101) at a moving average lag day 4 (lag 0-4), respectively. Additionally, increased risks of DTR-related sinusitis were observed in individuals aged 15-65 years, men, those in regions with mean temperatures within the 25-75 and 75-95%iles, and areas with lower PM₁₀ concentrations. Our study results show that DTR is associated with sinusitis. Our findings may provide a rationale for preventing sinusitis, which is a common and costly healthcare burden.