[The relationship between smoking and nasal polyposis]

Abstract

Objectives: Research on the role of environmental factors in the pathogenesis of nasal polyposis (NP) is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of smoking on NP.

Patients and methods: A total of 125 patients (80 men, 45 women; mean age 44+/-12 years; range 19 to 78 years) with NP were evaluated with regard to the presence or absence of smoking, polyp stage, paranasal sinus computed tomography (CT) score, total IgE level, blood eosinophil count, and symptom scores.

Results: The rate of smoking in NP patients was 16.8% (21 patients), being significantly low (p<0.001) compared to the general rate of smoking previously reported in the study area (34.2%). There was no association between smoking and polyp size, paranasal sinus CT score, total IgE level, and blood eosinophil count (p>0.05). The frequencies of allergy, asthma, and aspirin allergy were not different between smokers and nonsmokers (p>0.05). Symptom scores did not differ significantly between smokers and nonsmokers, except for nasal obstruction score, which was significantly low in nonsmokers (p=0.034).

Conclusion: Our results showed that the rate of smoking in patients with NP and the severity of nasal obstruction in smokers compared to nonsmokers were significantly low. Tissue studies in patients with NP may provide useful data on the relationship between smoking and NP.