title: Higher Body Mass Index Is Associated with Subjective Olfactory Dysfunction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Morbidly obese patients demonstrate altered olfactory acuity. There has been no study directly assessing Body Mass Index (BMI) in patients with olfactory dysfunction. Our purpose was to compare BMI in a group of patients with subjective olfactory dysfunction to those without subjective olfactory complaints.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective matched case-control study. Sixty patients who presented to a tertiary care otolaryngology center with subjective smell dysfunction over one year were identified. Neoplastic and obstructive etiologies were excluded. Demographics, BMI, and smoking status were reviewed. Sixty age, gender, and race matched control patients were selected for comparison. Chi-square testing was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  48 out of 60 patients (80%) in the olfactory dysfunction group fell into the overweight or obese categories, compared to 36 out of 60 patients (60%) in the control group. There was a statistically significant difference between the olfactory dysfunction and control groups for this stratified BMI (p = 0.0168).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests high BMI is associated with olfactory dysfunction. Prospective clinical research should examine this further to determine if increasing BMI may be a risk factor in olfactory loss and to elucidate what role olfactory loss may play in diet and feeding habits of obese patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA.
authors.forename: Z M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: DelGaudio
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Wise
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult