[Evaluation of smell function changes in pregnancy]

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to compare the olfactory function changes among pregnant women in varying trimesters and non-pregnant women.

Patients and methods: Thirty-five healthy pregnant women and 14 non-pregnant women were included in the study. Volunteer pregnant women were divided into three subgroups including the first trimester, second trimester, and third trimester. All volunteers were tested with the smell bottle test battery. The content of the test was consistent with the Sniffin' sticks including three detailed olfactory function tests, namely olfactory threshold (OT), olfactory discrimination (OD), and olfactory identification (OI). Total results of these three tests were defined as TDI scores.

Results: TDI score and test scores of the pregnant women in the first trimester statistically significantly decreased compared to pregnant women in other trimesters and non-pregnant women (p<0.05). Pregnant women in the second and third trimesters had similar olfactory function scores to the non-pregnant women (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The olfactory function changes are observed in women during pregnancy. In particular, decreased smell sensitivity in the first trimester returns to normal scores towards the end of pregnancy.