Symptoms of depression change with olfactory function

Abstract

Olfactory loss is associated with symptoms of depression. The present study, conducted on a large cohort of mostly dysosmic patients, aimed to investigate whether improvement in olfactory performance would correspond with a decrease in depression severity. In 171 participants (157 dysosmic), we assessed olfactory function and severity of depression before and after an average interval of 11 months, with many patients showing improvement in olfactory function. Separate analyses were conducted for (a) the whole group of patients and (b) the group of dysosmic patients using both classic and Bayesian approaches. For odor identification, Student t test demonstrated that the whole sample improved consistently, especially within the group of dysosmic patients. The dysosmic group also improved in odor threshold and overall olfactory function. Pearson correlation showed that an increase in olfactory function was associated with a decrease in depression severity, particularly in dysosmic patients. To conclude, the present results indicate that symptoms of depression change with olfactory function in general and odor identification in particular.

Depression Severity Is Different in Dysosmic Patients Who Have Experienced Traumatic Brain Injury Compared with Those Who Have Not

“…In fact, the Bayesian factor demonstrated that the olfactory performance in all analyzed functions was indistinguishable in both groups. Although olfactory dysfunction is related to depression [ 24 , 53 , 67 , 68 ], the present findings emphasize the important role of TBI experience in causing depression.…”

Smell and taste dysfunction after covid-19

“…Loss of smell and taste adversely affects quality of life by depriving those affected of several everyday pleasures and social bonds 6. People can also experience anorexia, food aversions, malnutrition, anxiety, and depression 7. All these disturbances can be greatly amplified by the onset of qualitative alterations, in particular by parosmia.…”

Olfactory loss is a predisposing factor for depression, while olfactory enrichment is an effective treatment for depression

“…Many studies have shown that olfactory impairment is associated with depression in human adults ( Atanasova et al, 2008 ; Croy et al, 2014 ; Kohli et al, 2016 ; Croy and Hummel, 2017 ; Taalman et al, 2017 ; Rochet et al, 2018 ; Rottstaedt et al, 2018 ; Wegener et al, 2018 ; Pabel et al, 2020 ; Qazi et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Athanassi et al, 2021 ; Kim and Bae, 2022 ; Liu et al, 2022 ; Sabiniewicz et al, 2022 ). Moreover, olfactory dysfunction precedes and predicts the development of depression in older adults ( Eliyan et al, 2021 ).…”