The urban homeless population has increased exposure to risk factors associated with CRS. There is a need to elucidate the sinonasal disease burden in this vulnerable patient population to bring awareness to any existing disparities.
Researchers did this study to assess the prevalence, severity, and associated factors of CRS clinical symptoms and health-care barriers in an urban homeless population.
Homeless adults completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and the SNOT-22 and EuroQol-5 Dimension-3 Level-Visual Analog Scale surveys.
Fifty-six out of 341 total subjects reported potential CRS symptoms. Those with possible CRS symptoms had a higher median SNOT-22 score than those without. Over three months, the period of homelessness was associated with higher SNOT-22 scores. Among those reporting two or more CRS cardinal symptoms, 18% had ever been seen by any physician for their symptoms.
The study concluded that there is a high prevalence of potential CRS symptoms in the urban homeless population. Longer duration of homelessness was associated with likely CRS symptoms and low CRS-specific quality of life scores. Disparities in access to care emphasize the need for increased preventive efforts designed for this unique patient group.
Reference: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1945892420912152
