engleski

Subjective severity of chronic rhinosinusitis is related to some personality characteristics and subjectively perceived stres

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common disorder, which has significant impact on health-related-quality of life (HRQL). The diagnosis is based on the combination of nasal symptoms and facial pain. Subjective severity staging of the disease is defined by the severity of symptoms and their impact on HRQL. Disease-specific HRQL instruments, like Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 Questionnaire (SNOT-22), include scoring of the severity of symptoms and HRQL items. The aim of the study is to examine relationship between subjectively perceived severity of chronic rhinosinusitis measured with Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 Questionnaire and some patient's psychological characteristics that could be related to perceived severity of the symptoms and its impact on HRQL: personality dimensions neuroticism and extraversion, neurotic and psychosomatic tendencies, perceived stress, stress coping strategies and perceived social support. Method: The subjects were 20 patients with CRS, with and without nasal polyps, scheduled for surgical treatment. After giving their informed consent, patients filled in SNOT-22 and the set of psychological scales and questionnaires: Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Eysenck and Eysenck) for assessment of personality dimensions extraversion and neuroticism, Cornell Index (Wieder et al.) for assessment of neurotic and psychosomatic tendencies, Measure of Psychological Stress (Lemyre and Tessier) for assessment of perceived stress, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (Endler and Parker) for assessment of stress coping strategies and Social Support Appraisals scale (Vaux) for assessment of perceived social support. Results of the scales were correlated with SNOT-22 score. Result: Perceived severity of impairment was found to be positively related to dimension of neuroticism (EPQ), hypersensitivity, tendency to psychosomatization and hypochondria (Cornell Index) and also to perceived stress (MPS), and negatively related to perceived social support (SSA). The highest correlation has been found for hypersensitivity (rho=0, 727, p=0, 001) and psychosomatic tendencies (rho=0, 678, p=0, 003). Extraversion, and also stress coping strategies, were found not to be related to perceived severity of nasal impairment. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that relation between subjective and objective disease severity may be moderated by certain patients’ psychological characteristics.

chronic rhinosinusitis; psychological traits; symptoms severty

nije evidentirano