Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) School of Medicine researchers from the Department of Respiratory and Allergy, led by Professors Lee Yong‑cheol and Jung Jae‑seok, and a research team from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology led by Professor Kim Jong‑seung and clinical fellow Yoo Yeon‑seok analyzed the National Health Insurance Service sample cohort (NSC) database and found that deviated nasal septum induces asthma, attracting attention.

The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the world-renowned journal The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice (Impact Factor 8.86).

Deviated nasal septum is an anatomical variation in which the nasal septum is bent to one side. It is a very common condition, with approximately 60% of the population affected. In severe cases, it is known to alter airflow in both nasal passages, potentially causing nasal obstruction and increased nasal resistance. Until now, there has been no information on whether deviated nasal septum is related to the occurrence of lower airway diseases such as bronchial asthma.

The research team conducted a nine‑year retrospective cohort study from 2002 to 2004 in an evenly distributed, propensity score‑matched design. They compared 9,951 adult patients aged 20 and older diagnosed with deviated nasal septum with a control group of 19,902 individuals not diagnosed with deviated nasal septum, matching for age, sex, residential area, socioeconomic status, and underlying medical conditions.

As a result, the deviated nasal septum group showed a higher incidence of asthma, and the incidence of asthma decreased significantly when septoplasty, the treatment for deviated nasal septum, was performed.

Accordingly, the researchers have for the first time demonstrated that patients with a deviated nasal septum can reduce their future risk of developing asthma through proactive septoplasty.

The Department of Respiratory and Allergy team led by Professors Lee Yong‑cheol and Jung Jae‑seok has long conducted successful government‑funded research on the pathogenesis and therapeutic development of chronic lung diseases, earning international recognition for expertise in this field. Since last year, they have been dedicating themselves to developing a novel integrated upper/lower airway disease therapy under a mid‑career individual basic research grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea.

The Department of Otorhinolaryngology team led by Professor Kim Jong‑seung established the first Department of Medical Informatics at a national medical school in February 2020. By integrating medical science and data science, they study correlations and pathogenesis among diseases, and their collaboration with the Department of Respiratory and Allergy produced these results.

Going forward, the two research teams plan to conduct additional bioinformatics and molecular immunology studies to pursue integrated airway disease research in various forms, including elucidation of the causal relationship between deviated nasal septum and refractory lower airway diseases.