Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that usually occurs during the late fall and winter and is associated with shorter hours of daylight. | PxHere.com
Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that usually occurs during the late fall and winter and is associated with shorter hours of daylight. | PxHere.com
• Approximately 10 million Americans experience seasonal depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder, each year.
• Chronic sinus problems can also increase the likelihood of experiencing depression.
• Depression caused by chronic sinusitis can be treated by addressing the sinus problems.
For a lot of people living in the U.S., we are in the middle of the dark, gloomy, mostly sunless time of year.
Approximately 10 million people suffer from depression this time of year, according to Boston University. The condition is called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The symptoms include sadness, sluggishness and weight changes.
SAD typically occurs during the winter, when days are shorter and there is less sunlight than other times of the year, and it is more likely to affect women than men. Treatments for the condition can include light therapy or traditional treatments such as antidepressants.
"Nasal obstruction, chronic sinusitis or chronic allergies really affect one's quality of life," Dr. Matthew Blair of Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told East Panhandle News. "If you have a poor outlook on life, because you're always suffering from allergies or sinusitis, it's going to affect the rest of your general health. So if you can get your breathing and your nose in tiptop shape, you're going to feel better and you'll want to do more things. You're going to overall improve your quality of health."
A study also found that people who have chronic sinusitis could be more like to suffer from depression and anxiety, according to Physician's Weekly. One study compared a group of 16,224 people who were treated for chronic sinusitis with a group of 32,448 "similar people" who did not have sinus problems. The study found that over the next 11 years, the sinusitis sufferers were more than 50% more likely to develop depression or anxiety.
A report from Houston Advanced Nose and Sinus found that as many as 25% of people with chronic sinusitis also experience depression, along with more familiar sinus infection symptoms, such as headaches, facial pain, a cough, and nasal discharge.
Depression that is caused by chronic sinusitis can be treated by addressing the sinus infection through medication or a surgery like balloon sinuplasty.
To learn more about sinus and allergy symptoms, please take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.
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