TITLE:
Unmasking the Link: Maternal Anxiety and Allergic Rhinitis in Offspring Based on a Case-Control Study
AUTHORS:
Yunpeng Dong, Yaqian Zhou, Junrong Chen, Yide Yang, Jian Li
KEYWORDS:
Prenatal Anxiety, Negative Events during Pregnancy, Children’s Allergic Rhinitis
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.16 No.4,
March
26,
2026
ABSTRACT: Background: Prenatal mental state is related to offspring health and disease occurrence. However, research concerning the relationship between prenatal anxiety and the incidence of allergic diseases in offspring remains limited. This study tried to explore the potential link between prenatal anxiety, adverse events, and the development of allergic rhinitis in children. Methods: The study employed a case-control design incorporating a total of 303 children diagnosed with allergic rhinitis and an age and gender matched control group of 303 healthy children. Comprehensive data regarding the children, their mothers, and maternal pregnancy details were collected from both groups. The Odds Ratio for allergic rhinitis in children was determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: After considering relevant confounding factors, logistic regression analysis showed that maternal anxiety during pregnancy increased the risk of children’s allergic rhinitis by 1.689 times (OR = 2.689, P P Conclusions: The study demonstrated that prenatal anxiety and negative life events could increase the development of children’s allergic rhinitis. These findings suggest that implementing strategies to mitigate prenatal anxiety could be beneficial in reducing the incidence of childhood allergic rhinitis.