MONDAY, July 20, 2026 (NewsDay News) — Subjective impairment of smell (SOI) is consistently associated with depression, according to a study published online July 9.JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Henry Bode, MD, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the literature to determine the association of objective olfactory impairment (OOI) and SOI with subjective and/or objective depression.
Based on seven and 11 independent studies for primary analyzes of SOI and OOI, researchers found that SOI was associated with depression in seven studies (odds ratio, 1.56; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.19 to 2.05). Among studies at low risk of bias, the association remained robust (odds ratio, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.18 to 2.46) across age groups and subjective and objective depression. For OOI, there was an association with objective depression across 11 studies (odds ratio, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.56), which was no longer significant after adjustment for publication bias (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.87 to 1.44 years), but remained in adults and older adults. anosmia
“Our findings suggest that loss of smell, particularly when subjectively reported, may co-occur with depressive symptoms and reflect overlapping perceptual and affective processes; however, the available evidence is insufficient to support clinical recommendations,” the authors wrote.
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