Link found between higher cytokines, reduced cognition in chronic rhinosinusitis

Key takeaways:

• Researchers found an inverse relationship between cytokine IL-6 and five of the six evaluated cognitive domains.
• The same was true for IL-8.

SAN DIEGO — Among patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, higher IL-6 and IL-8 levels had links to decreases in several cognitive function domains including episodic memory and attention/processing speed, according to a presentation here.

This study was presented at the 2025 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology/World Allergy Organization Joint Congress.

“These findings can help clinicians better understand how chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) affects cognitive function in their patients,” Donyea Moore, MSc, research program manager at UT Health Science Center Houston, told Healio. “Clinicians can offer treatment plans that address inflammation and cognitive health.”

Moore and colleagues evaluated 80 patients with CRS and 98 controls without chronic disease to uncover how cognition scores, sleep scores and inflammatory cytokines differ between the two sets of individuals, as well as to determine if cognitive decline can be mediated by cytokines and sleep.

Notably, all included individuals had no previous sleep or cognition-related risk factors, according to the abstract.

Researchers observed significant differences between those with nonatopic CRS and controls in two of six cognitive assessment domains: episodic memory score (P = .03) and composite cognition score (P = .043). Both scores were weakened in the nonatopic CRS group.

The abstract further reported significantly reduced executive function scores among patients with CRS without nasal polyps vs. controls (P = .04).

When assessing cytokines from blood specimen, researchers found an inverse relationship between cytokine IL-6 and five of the six cognitive domains: episodic memory (P = .06), attention/processing speed (P = .001), visuospatial abilities (P = .004), executive function (P = .01) and composite cognition score (P = .003).

This pattern was also seen when investigating IL-8, as this cytokine had inverse links to the same five cognitive domains of episodic memory (P = .01), attention/processing speed (P = .005), visuospatial abilities (P = .03), executive function and composite cognition score (P = .01), according to the abstract.

Between the CRS group and the control group, researchers reported significantly elevated IL-6 levels among those with CRS (P = .02).

The abstract noted that sleep was analyzed via four surveys focused on sleep quality, timing and sleepiness, and patients with CRS had significantly decreased sleep scores vs. controls (P .0001).

In contrast to IL-6 and IL-8, the sleep scores “did not mediate any changes in cognitive function,” according to researchers.

This study also involved a secondary analysis in which researchers plotted cognition against age, Moore told Healio

“We were surprised to find that the CRS group experienced a faster rate of decline in episodic and working memory when cognition was plotted against age compared to those without chronic disease,” Moore said.

“Future studies should be conducted in larger cohorts and include an expanded elderly population,” Moore added. “Additionally, future research should aim to explore the underlying mechanisms that contribute to cognitive decline and the role of inflammatory mediators in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.”

For more information:

Donyea Moore, MSc, can be reached at donyea.moore@uth.tmc.edu.