Chronic sinusitis and arterial hypertension in a national population health survey

Background To determine if sinusitis is associated with arterial hypertension in the Canadian population. Methods Complex survey design incorporating stratification, multiple stages of selection, and unequal probabilities of selection of respondents. Cross-sectional data from 52,992 subjects (25,324 males and 27,668 females) 20–64 years of age who participated in the second cycle of the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), conducted in 1996–1997. All these individuals were asked if they had certain chronic health conditions, that had lasted or were expected to last 6 months or more, including sinusitis and high blood pressure. Results Overall, males with sinusitis were just over 2% more likely to have hypertension (9.3% vs. 7.1%) whereas the difference was 4% for women (11.8% vs. 7.6%). Adjusted for age, region, habitation, immigrant status, household size, number of bedrooms, income adequacy, education level, smoking status, alcohol consumption, regular exercise and body mass index, the adjusted odds ratio for females was 1.42 (95% CI 1.04, 1.95). Conclusions Reported sinusitis is associated with hypertension but only in women. Mechanisms linking upper respiratory disorders to hypertension merit investigation.