Identification and enjoyment of food items is reduced in dysosmic subjects: a pilot study

Although dysosmia affects a significant proportion of the adult population, there are a paucity of studies addressing its impact on flavor perception and food enjoyment. This study aimed to assess flavor perception and food enjoyment in subjects with and without dysosmia, comparing performance of items considered olfactory-dominant or trigeminal-dominant.

Adult subjects prospectively underwent Sniffin' Sticks olfactory testing from which threshold, discrimination, and identification (TDI) scores were used to identify dysosmic (TDI over 31) and normosmic subjects (TDI under 31). Forced-choice, blinded flavor identification testing was performed using 8 flavor extracts and 8 real-food purees of either trigeminal- or olfactory-dominant flavor profile. Food enjoyment was quantified using visual analog scales.

Forty-one subjects were enrolled, including 20 dysosmics and 21 normosmics, with no difference in age or gender. Compared with normosmics, dysosmic subjects had significantly lower identification of extracts and purees. Among dysosmics, overall identification of trigeminal-dominant extracts and foods was higher than olfactory-dominant extracts and foods. Compared with normosmics, dysosmic subjects reported significantly reduced enjoyment of olfactory-dominant extracts and foods; however, there was no significant difference in enjoyment of trigeminal-dominant extracts or foods.

Identification and enjoyment of food items is reduced in dysosmic subjects, with the greatest impact in olfactory items. These findings suggest that diet modification might lead to greater enjoyment in those with dysosmia.