‘Not enough evidence’
Commenting for this news organization, Philip R. Muskin, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, said he did not find the results surprising.
For example, that individuals with social anxiety are not particularly aware of others’ smell “makes perfect sense” because “people with social anxiety disorder are concerned with themselves,” he said.
Dr. Muskin, who has an interest in and has written about olfactory function, was not involved with the research.
He noted several study limitations. First, participants just reported on their smell awareness, but “having people actually smell stuff might have been more interesting.”
In addition, the study population was relatively young, mostly women, and women’s olfactory sensitivity changes throughout the menstrual cycle, Dr. Muskin said.
“We don’t know where these women are in their cycles when they’re reporting their awareness of odors,” he said. “It would be good to know if the women were all in the luteal phase or were premenstrual because that might correlate with their anxiety or depressive symptoms.”
Asking a patient about smell awareness may provide some insight when assessing for symptoms of depression, along with obtaining details on such things as sleep, Dr. Muskin noted.
However, he does not think the new findings are enough to include olfactory awareness in the interview process. “It’s not enough evidence to use as a clinical tool for diagnosis, and I don’t see this is clinically useful yet.”
The study was supported by the European Commission Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and the Austrian Science Fund. The investigators and Dr. Muskin have reported no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.