Removal of the tonsils has been a regular practice in the US, but research is now indicating it may be the cause of specific illnesses, including psychiatric ones.

Were your tonsils removed as a child or a young adult? New research and prior studies are now shedding new light on this procedure, which provides little in the way of improved health. Medical professionals are looking at the data and the procedure and sounding concern.

Children with recurrent tonsillitis and adults with obstructive sleep apnea or suspicion of a malignant tumor often undergo tonsillectomy, a common surgical surgery. This operation is performed on approximately 300,000 youngsters every year in the United States. Around 13,500 people in Sweden get tonsillectomy every year.

Due to its high occurrence, understanding the long-term health effects on children after tonsillectomy is crucial, particularly in early life. Researchers have discovered that tonsillectomy patients are more likely to experience irritable bowel syndrome, autoimmune illnesses, respiratory issues, infections, early myocardial infarction, certain cancers, and even psychiatric disorders.

The association between a psychiatric disorder and a simple surgical procedure intended to ease frequent sore throats is somewhat disturbing and previously unthought of in the healthcare profession. But research is pointing in that direction.

Among 48,672 people enrolled in a national insurance database, those with chronic rhinosinusitis were more likely to experience major depressive disorder and anxious thoughts over the course of the study’s eleven-year follow-up period. People with chronic rhinosinusitis who did not have nasal polyps were more likely to develop anxiety and depression than those whose nasal polyps were present. This would seem to indicate that there is an association between anxiety and depression and nasal polyps.

Anxiety/Depression and Nasal Issues

Many people with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) also suffer from anxiety and depression, according to several earlier cross-sectional studies. Nevertheless, the exact nature of the connection between CRS and mental health issues remains unclear. Patients with depression and anxiety may report more severe CRS symptoms, but it is not known if these symptoms are a direct result of CRS or if CRS’s impact on quality of life exacerbates these mental health issues. So, it may be more a question of quality of life, rather than an impairment of some biological system as a result of the surgery or the presence of polyps.

These findings, as well as the possible relationship of tonsillectomy to other illnesses of a chronic nature may be explained in a number of ways. Such findings can be due to several factors.

Psychiatric problems often manifest in early adulthood or during adolescence and are among the most prevalent causes of morbidity in the modern world. Chronic inflammation within the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue was proposed as a possible explanation in a prior study that linked tonsillectomy with an elevated risk of various psychiatric disorders and suicidal conduct.

This may be a spurious association. Nevertheless, we must consider all associations, especially when surgical removal of any tissue is not thoroughly warranted, as proven by extended database results. The case for tonsillectomy is seemingly modest or less than modest, as outlined in a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Studies have indicated that people with chronic inflammatory conditions of the head and neck, such as rhinosinusitis and otitis media, may be more prone to depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders. However, little is known about the relationship between head and neck health issues and mental disorders, or the possible role of chronic inflammation in this intersection.

What we do know is that these type of chronic nasal infections may bring on marked changes in the person's life that can lead to the development of anxiety and depression. Therefore, it is potentially a psychological change rather than a biological.

Now, however, healthcare professionals are looking anew at tonsillitis or tonsillectomy and asking questions that may not have occurred previously, or that were hidden in the voluminous literature.

There may be a changed risk of future health consequences associated with tonsillectomy indications, such as chronic or recurrent pharyngeal infections and the inflammation that follows.

A second reason tonsillectomy can affect your health in the long run is because it alters your physiology. Tonsillectomies, for instance, remove the body’s first line of defense against airborne and ingested infections, which might change immunological responses and increase the likelihood of disease. We know from current psychiatric literature, that there may be a strong association between inflammation and depression and anxiety. Therefore, if the first line of defense against inflammation is removed, would it be logical to assume the potential of a psychiatric disorder as a result?

Finally, confounding bias has the potential to explain why some people have to have tonsils removed at a young age while others are at a higher risk of experiencing negative health effects in later years.

Once again, research must back any procedure that can result in future negative issues of disease or psychiatric disorders. The question remains whether or not tonsillectomy should be a regular procedure for all children or only used in those at special risk.