Research published in Archives of Internal Medicine (2003;163:1832-1836.) and performed by scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center, shows a link between fatigue, unexplained pain and chronic sinusitis. A study conducted at Harvard had shown that fatigue and pain scores of sinusitis patients were similar or worse than a group 20 years older with lung disease, congestive heart failure, or back pain. According to the CDC, 32 million Americans suffer from sinus problems.
On average, sinus symptoms were nine times more common in patients with unexplained chronic fatigue, and six times more common in patients with unexplained chronic pain than in the control group. Sinus symptoms were also more common in patients with unexplained fatigue than in patients with fatigue explained by illness. Unexplained fatigue can therefore be more closely associated with sinusitis than are other types of fatigue.
More than 20% of the subjects in the study met the criteria for a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. Most of the chronic fatigue syndrome patients had sinus symptoms. Many noted a sudden onset of their illness, something they have in common with patients suffering with sinusitis.
