Abstract

Objectives: This multidisciplinary prospective study aims to evaluate nasal obstruction, hormonal changes, and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women with and without rhinitis compared to non-pregnant controls.

Patients and Methods: Between January 2025 and May 2025, a total of 90 female participants were included in the final analysis and divided according to pregnancy and symptomatic status into Group 1, 30 pregnant women with rhinitis (mean age: 28.53±7.70 years; range, 18 to 45 years), Group 2, 30 pregnant women without rhinitis (mean age: 30.70±6.75 years; range, 18 to 43 years), and Group 3, 30 non-pregnant women without rhinitis (mean age: 29.07±5.41 years; range, 19 to 42 years), and clinical outcomes were compared. Assessments included subjective measures such as the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation and Visual Analog Scale, objective nasal airflow through peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF), serum estradiol and progesterone levels, and neonatal outcomes including 5-min Apgar scores, low birth weight (LBW), and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and chi-square tests, with significance set at p < 0.05.

Results: Pregnant women with rhinitis had significantly higher NOSE scores (12.10±3.75) and VAS scores (59.27±20.64) compared to pregnant women without rhinitis (4.60±2.92 and 15.00±10.18, respectively; p < 0.001). Correspondingly, PNIF values were significantly lower in the rhinitis group (52.00±21.07) than in pregnant women without rhinitis (83.70±22.53; p < 0.001). Although serum estradiol (8065±804.1 pg/mL) and progesterone (136.0±14.56 ng/mL) levels were slightly higher in the rhinitis group compared to those without rhinitis (8058±935.9 pg/mL and 130.4±14.55 ng/mL), these differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.999 and p = 0.093).

Conclusion: Gestational rhinitis significantly affects maternal nasal symptoms, detectable by both subjective and objective assessments. While not directly linked to estradiol or progesterone levels, it requires clinical attention, patient education, and safe management strategies to optimize maternal comfort and ensure vigilant perinatal care.

Citation: Yildiz T, Yildiz P, Kanbak AR, Muderris T. Gestational rhinitis: A multidisciplinary prospective cohort study on hormonal influence and maternal-neonatal outcomes. Praxis Otorhinolaryngol 2026;14(2):84-91. https://doi.org/10.5606/ kbbu.2026.79037.

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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The authors declare that artificial intelligence (AI) tools were not used, or were used solely for language editing, and had no role in data analysis, interpretation, or the formulation of conclusions. All scientific content, data interpretation, and conclusions are the sole responsibility of the authors. The authors further confirm that AI tools were not used to generate, fabricate, or ‘hallucinate’ references, and that all references have been carefully verified for accuracy.

T.Y.: Conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, data curation, writingoriginal draft; P.Y.: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation (otolaryngology), resources, writing-review & editing; A.R.K.: Investigation (obstetrics and gynecology), data curation, validation; T.M.: Supervision, project administration, writing-review & editing, final approval.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.