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Odor sensitivity impairment: a behavioral marker of psychological distress?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2018

David C. Houghton Open the ORCID record for David C. Houghton [Opens in a new window] ,
Samuel L. Howard ,
Thomas W. Uhde ,
Caitlin Paquet ,
Rodney J. Schlosser  and
Bernadette M. Cortese
David C. Houghton*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
Samuel L. Howard
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Thomas W. Uhde
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Caitlin Paquet
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Rodney J. Schlosser
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Bernadette M. Cortese*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Bernadette M. Cortese, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Medical University of South Carolina, 67 President Street, MSC 861, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. (Email: corteseb@musc.edu)
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Abstract

Objective

Enhanced odor sensitivity, particularly toward threat-related cues, may be adaptive during periods of danger. Research also suggests that chronic psychological distress may lead to functional changes in the olfactory system that cause heightened sensitivity to odors. Yet, the association between self-reported odor sensitivity, objective odor detection, and affective psychopathology is currently unclear, and research suggests that persons with affective problems may only be sensitive to specific, threat-related odors.

Methods

The current study compared adults with self-reported odor sensitivity that was described as functionally impairing (OSI; n = 32) to those who reported odor sensitivity that was non-impairing (OS; n = 17) on affective variables as well as quantitative odor detection.

Results

Increased anxiety sensitivity, trait anxiety, depression, and life stress, even while controlling for comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders, was found for OSI compared to OS. While OSI, compared to OS, demonstrated only a trend increase in objective odor detection of a smoke-like, but not rose-like, odor, further analysis revealed that increased detection of that smoke-like odor was positively correlated with anxiety sensitivity.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that persons with various forms of psychological distress may find themselves significantly impaired by an intolerance of odors, but that self-reported odor sensitivity does not necessarily relate to enhanced odor detection ability. However, increased sensitivity to a smoke-like odor appears to be associated with sensitivity to aversive anxiogenic stimuli. Implications for the pathophysiology of fear- and anxiety-related disorders are discussed.

Keywords

Anxietyanxiety sensitivityodor sensitivitysomatizationstress
Type
Original Research
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 404 - 412
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

Funding for this study was provided by NIMH Grant K01 MH090548 (BMC).

References

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