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Related Experiment Videos

Olfactory identification ability in anorexia nervosa

L C Kopala1, K Good, E M Goldner

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver General Hospital, Canada.

Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience : JPN
|July 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary

Patients with severe eating disorders maintain normal olfactory identification abilities, even when nutritionally compromised. Zinc levels and nutritional status did not correlate with smell function in this study.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Nutritional Science
  • Psychiatry

Background:

  • Olfactory deficits have been reported in patients with schizophrenia, potentially linked to nutritional deficiencies.
  • Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, involve severe malnutrition and potential zinc deficiency, raising questions about their impact on olfactory function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether patients with severe eating disorders exhibit olfactory identification deficits.
  • To determine if zinc deficiency or malnutrition contributes to olfactory dysfunction in these patients.

Main Methods:

  • Administered the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) to 27 female patients with anorexia nervosa and 50 healthy female controls.
  • Measured serum zinc levels and body mass indices in a subgroup of patients before and after nutritional repletion.

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Main Results:

  • Patients with eating disorders showed UPSIT scores comparable to normal controls, despite being nutritionally compromised (low BMI).
  • Serum zinc levels did not significantly differ between pre- and post-nutritional repletion phases.
  • No significant correlation was found between nutritional status, zinc levels, and olfactory identification performance.

Conclusions:

  • Severe eating disorders are associated with intact olfactory function, unlike findings in schizophrenia.
  • Transient metabolic or nutritional disturbances alone do not explain olfactory deficits observed in other psychiatric conditions.
  • This suggests that factors beyond malnutrition and zinc deficiency are responsible for olfactory impairments in certain patient groups.