Effects of smoking and obesity on nasal resistance

Effects of smoking and obesity on nasal resistance. Background: We aimed to standardize the normal values of active anterior rhinomanometry (AAR) in the population without nasal obstruction, as well as to review the factors affecting these values, such as gender, age, smoking and obesity.

Methods: One hundred and sixty-eight volunteer patients, who were admitted to the Ear Nose Throat department with complaints other than stuffy nose and whose findings in anterior rhinoscopy and endoscopic nasal examinations were normal, were included in the study. The nasal resistances of the participants were calculated using active anterior rhinomanometry.

Results: The mean total nasal resistance was 0.18 ± 0.03 Pa*s/ml in inspiration, while it was 0.16 ± 0.03 Pa*s/ml in expiration. It was found that smokers have a higher nasal resistance (0.19 Pa*s/ml) than non-smokers (0.17 Pa*s/ml) (p< 0.001), and that people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) higher than 25 had a significantly higher nasal resistance (0.18 Pa*s/ml) than those with a BMI lower than 25 (0.16 Pa*s/ml) (p: 0.03). When the comparison was done by gender, there were no significant differences between the genders (p: 0.35). There is no correlation between age and nasal resistance (p: 0.34).

Conclusion: Smoking and obesity are the factors that increase nasal resistance. These factors should be taken into consideration in clinical studies. There was no relationship between nasal resistance scores, gender and age; still, further repeated studies are required to confirm our findings.