ABSTRACT
Background Since the beginning of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a great number of people had to stay at home due to quarantine, and the food delivery industry has grown significantly. In terms of public health, concerns have been raised regarding the popularity of meals prepared away-from-home (AFH) and their impact on health and nutrition. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between the frequency of away-from-home meals and the prevalence of inflammatory sinonasal diseases including allergic rhinitis (AR) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), among South Koreans.Methods In this cross-sectional study, data of participants of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) recruited from 2010 to 2019 were reviewed. The frequency of AFH meals was assessed by asking participants how often they ate AFH meals in an average week. Those who ate AFH meals less than once per week were designated as group 1, those who ate one to four times per week as group 2, and those who ate five times per week or more as group 3. Questionnaires regarding the diagnosis of AR and CRS were administered to each participant, and other factors such as symptoms, endoscopic findings, and serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were assessed by referring to the recent clinical guidelines. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed.Results Among 80,861 participants in the KNHANES 2010–2019, 48,515 were eligible. A total of 6,642 and 3,144 participants had AR and CRS, respectively. In multivariate logistic regression analysis for AR, when compared to group 1, the odds ratio (OR) for diagnosis of AR in the participants of group 2 (OR = 1.226, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.136–1.324) and group 3 (OR = 1.227, 95% CI = 1.126–1.337) were significantly higher (p < 0.0001). For CRS, group 2 (OR = 1.139, 95% CI = 1.029–1.260) and group 3 (OR = 1.210, 95% CI = 1.078–1.358) showed a significantly higher risk than group 1 (p = 0.0044). Additionally, serum specific IgE for house dust mites (p = 0.0173) and endoscopic findings of watery rhinorrhea (p = 0.0359) in patients with AR, and symptoms of olfactory dysfunction for more than 12 weeks (p = 0.0004) in CRS were significantly more prevalent in participants who had AFH meals more frequently.Conclusion If individuals who frequently eat away-from-home change their dietary habits, they might lower the risk and severity of AR or CRS.