Age-related changes of inflammatory cytokines in nasal secretion of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis

BACKGROUND: Patient-specific factors are highly involved in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) 's course and treatment response. However, the effects of aging on the pathophysiology of CRS remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the age-related changes in nasal secretion inflammatory characteristics in patients with CRS. METHODS: The levels of 12 inflammatory cytokines in nasal mucus samples obtained from 31 patients diagnosed with CRS were measured via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The associations between age and inflammatory cytokine levels were determined by Spearman correlation coefficient analysis. In addition, the relationships between inflammatory markers and demographic evaluation variables such as the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) score and disease duration were examined to determine whether the levels of inflammatory cytokines influence the assessment of disease severity in CRS patients. RESULTS: Compared to younger patients with CRS, aged CRS patients exhibited a significant reduction in IL-6 levels (p < 0.01), while levels of IL-10 (p < 0.01), IL-13 (p < 0.01), and Eotaxin (p < 0.05) were markedly elevated. Notably, the Eotaxin level demonstrated a significant decline with age among CRS patients younger than 60 years old (r = -0.79, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the increased mucus TNF-α level was significantly correlated with the prolongation of the disease course in aged CRS patients, with a clinically relevant difference of 7.78 months (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We have revealed age-specific changes in the inflammatory characteristics of CRS patients, providing new and interesting findings for the development of personalized treatment methods tailored to this high-risk population.