Do altitude and climate affect paranasal sinus volume?

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of climate and altitude differences on the volume of paranasal sinuses and on the frequency of anatomic variations by comparing the paranasal sinus tomograms (PNSCT) of patients who were born and living in a cold, dry climate at high altitude with those of patients who were born and living on the coast at sea level in a temperate climate. We also aimed to determine differences relating to gender.Material and methodsA total of 55 PNSCTs of 55 patients from the city center of Antalya and 60 PNSCTs of 60 patients from the city center of Agrı were evaluated and compared prospectively. The study included a total of 115 patients with a mean age of 44.75 ± 9.64 years (range, 27–63 years). Group 1 (Antalya) comprised 26 females (47.3%) and 29 males (52.7%) with a mean age of 36.7 ± 12.4 years. Group 2 (Agrı) comprised 25 females (41.7%) and 35 males (58.3%) with a mean age of 35.1 ± 13.4 years. Maxillary sinus volumes were 18.27 cm3 (range, 5.04–37.62) and 15.06 cm3 (4.11–41.40); sphenoid sinus volumes were 7.81 cm3 (1.80–20.63) and 6.35 cm3 (0.54–16.50); frontal sinus volumes were 5.51 cm3 (0.50–29.25) and 3.76 cm3 (0.68–22.81) respectively.ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference between the groups in term of volumes (p > 0.025). Both maxillary and frontal sinus volumes were greater in males compared to females (p < 0.025). The mean value of the maxillary sinus volume was 15.7 ± 5.3 cm3 and was significantly larger in males than in females (p = 0.004). There was no statistically significant correlation between the volume of maxillary sinuses with age or side. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of septum deviation and concha bullosa rates (p = 0.469 and p = 0.388).ConclusionThere have been many studies of nasal cavity changes due to climatic conditions but this is the first study to measure the difference of paranasal sinus volumes. No difference was determined in the anatomic variations and volumes of the maxillary, frontal, sphenoid sinuses on PNSCT of patients from different climates and altitudes.