Intolerance to ambient odors at an early stage of pregnancy.
Adverse reactions to ambient odorous and pungent substances in daily activities among pregnant women who are half-way through pregnancy, and changes in odor perception at predominantly an early stage of pregnancy motivated the present study of odor intolerance at an early pregnancy stage. Ninety-five women averaging gestational week 11 and 102 non-pregnant women were compared with the Chemical Sensitivity Scale for Sensory Hyperreactivity (CSS-SHR). General environmental intolerance was assessed with items from the Noise Sensitivity Scale that are analogous to the CSS-SHR ("NSS-SHR"). Pregnant women were found to have higher scores on the CSS-SHR, but not on the "NSS-SHR". This suggests an odor intolerance that affects pregnant women's daily activities, which appears not to be due to a general environmental intolerance. The effect size of pregnancy on CSS-SHR score is larger in the present study of early pregnancy than in the previous study of women half-way through pregnancy.
Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Sweden. steven.nordin@psy.umu.se
Steven
S
Nordin
Daniel A
DA
Broman
Eva
E
Bringlöv
Marianne
M
Wulff
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009622:Noise; D009812:Odorants; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D012903:Smell; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires