Abstract
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, people had to stay at home due to quarantine, and the food delivery industry grew significantly. Concerns have been raised regarding the popularity of away-from-home (AFH) meals and their impact on health. In this study, we evaluated the association between the frequency of AFH meals and the prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). In this cross-sectional study, the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was reviewed from 2010 to 2019. The frequency of AFH meals was assessed as how often the respondents ate AFH meals in an average week. Those who ate AFH meals less than once per week were designated as group 1, one to four times as group 2, and five times or more as group 3. The diagnoses of AR and CRS were evaluated, and symptoms, endoscopic findings, and serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were assessed. Logistic regression analyses were performed. A total of 48,515 participants were eligible. In multivariate logistic regression analysis for AR, when compared to group 1, the odds ratios (ORs) for AR in 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). Individuals who consume AFH meals frequently might suffer less from AR or CRS if they change their dietary habits and prepare meals more often at home.