Nasal Mucociliary Clearance in Various Phases of Menstrual Cycles

Introduction: Various phases of menstrual cycle not only affect reproductive system but other systems also. So this study was performed to see effect of various phases of menstrual cycle on nasal mucosa. Materials and methods: Study was performed on 30 healthy female medical students of 18-24 years having regular menstrual cycles. Nasal mucociliary clearance (NMC) time was recorded during menstrual (2 nd to 4 th day), proliferative (9 th to 12 th day) and luteal phases (19 th to 21 st day) of menstrual cycles. NMC time was assessed by Andersen’s saccharin technique. Results: The mean values of NMC of two menstrual cycles were 10.81± 2.143, 8.233± 1.942 and 11.12 ± 2.118 in menstrual, proliferative and luteal phases respectively. On comparing proliferative phase with menstrual and luteal phases, NMC time difference was highly significant (p<.001) and when luteal and menstrual phases were compared results were not significant (p>.05). Conclusion: Nasal mucociliary clearance time was significantly less in proliferative phase when compared with other two phases of menstrual cycles. Thus various phases of menstrual cycle do have effect on nasal mucosa. This may be related to change in hormonal levels in different phases of