Background: Prolonged use of decongestants is relatively common (in about 49% of patients with persistent rhinitis), and leads to a series of side effects such as recurrent nasal congestion after discontinuation. Objective: The aim of this research was to reveal risk factors for prolonged use of decongestants among students of biomedical faculties. Methods: The study was designed as cross/sectional investigation, based on data collected through a questionnaire. The study population were undergraduate students of medicine, pharmacy and dentistry. Results: Univariate analysis showed that diagnosis of allergic rhinitis, diagnosis of chronic sinusitis and regularly adding hot spices to food were significant risk factors for prolonged utilization of nasal decongestants. However, after adjusting their effects for other independent and confounding variables, the only risk factor for prolonged use of nasal decongestants was diagnosis of allergic rhinitis (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 7.239 [2.473 21.187], p = 0.000), while the average daily study time exhibited protective effect (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 0.745 [0.569 0.975], p = 0.032). Conclusion: Prolonged use of nasal decongestants is highly prevalent among university students of biomedicine, and individuals with chronic nasal disorders like allergic rhinitis and sinusitis are under higher risk to engage in such behavior. Education seems as being key factor that may prevent overuse of decongestants, but its true effect and modes of action remain to be established in future studies.
Key words: nasal decongestants, prolonged utilization, allergic rhinitis, risk factors.
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