{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T09:40:38Z","timestamp":1786527638626,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786492800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objectives: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a prevalent chronic inflammatory upper airway disease. Despite a higher radiological disease burden in males, clinical CRS diagnoses are disproportionately registered in females, suggesting systematic underdiagnosis in young men. The 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) represents the reference patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) for sinonasal symptom burden. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sinonasal symptom burden and to identify associated clinical, laboratory, and lifestyle parameters in a large cohort of young male adults. Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, 500 young male adults underwent, as part of the conscription examination, standardized assessment including the SNOT-22, spirometry (FEV1%), whole blood count (eosinophils), and serum CRP. SNOT-22 scores were categorized as none (0\u201320), moderate (21\u201350), and severe (&gt;50). Associations were analyzed using Spearman correlation, Mann\u2013Whitney U, and Chi2 tests. Results: The mean SNOT-22 score was 18.8 (SD 15.2; range 0\u201373). A total of 38.2% of participants scored \u226521, indicating at least moderate sinonasal symptom burden. SNOT-22 correlated significantly with CRP (r = 0.117, p = 0.009) and inversely with relative FEV1% (r = \u22120.103, p = 0.022). Eosinophils showed a numeric gradient across SNOT-22 categories (3.08% vs. 3.31% vs. 3.56%) without reaching significance. Conclusions: More than one third of young male adults reported significant self-reported sinonasal symptom burden. Symptom severity was associated with systemic inflammatory markers and reduced pulmonary function, supporting the unified airway concept. These findings support the utility of SNOT-22 as a low-threshold assessment tool for self-reported sinonasal symptom burden in preventive health examinations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life16081318","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T09:11:36Z","timestamp":1786525896000},"page":"1318","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prevalence and Correlates of Sinonasal Symptom Burden in Young Adult Males: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study (PrENT Study)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Emanuel","family":"Maitz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Reinhard","family":"Domanyi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"},{"name":"Military Hospital Graz, 8052 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3349-1101","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gerold","family":"Schwantzer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6538-3116","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gerald","family":"Sendlhofer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2530-9931","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandros","family":"Andrianakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dietmar","family":"Thurnher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5501-1220","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Weiland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1216","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1398-9995.2011.02646.x","article-title":"Chronic rhinosinusitis in Europe\u2014An underestimated disease. 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