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ABSTRACT: Background
Olfactory loss is associated with poor quality of life, malnutrition, and increased risk of depression, yet few studies have examined unawareness of olfactory dysfunction in men living with HIV (MLWH).Method
MLWH (n = 51) completed olfaction self-ratings, psychophysical odor identification testing, cognitive measures, and questionnaires assessing smell habits, mood, cognitive failures, and quality of life. The sensitivity and specificity of olfactory self-ratings was calculated, and t-tests were used to examine factors contributing to discordance between self-rated and psychophysical olfaction dysfunction.Results
We found that 33.3% (17 of 51 MLWH) of our sample demonstrated discordance between self-reported and psychophysical olfactory scores. Those unaware of olfaction dysfunction reported using less scented products in daily life but showed no other differences across demographic, clinical, or cognitive indices.Conclusions
Our results cohere with prior studies of cognitively normal older adults, traumatic brain injury, and Parkinson's disease, which found that olfactory self-ratings may inadequately capture the full range of a person's olfactory status. Our work extends these findings to MLWH, with discordance rates ranging from 35 to 61% for self-rated and psychophysical olfactory dysfunction.Implications
Given the differing rates of self-rated and psychophysical olfaction in our sample, psychophysical olfactory measures may be useful to consider in the neuropsychological assessment and clinical care of PLWH.Supplementary information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12078-022-09305-x.
SUBMITTER: Kamath V
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9648461 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Kamath Vidyulata V Del Bene Victor A VA Collette Christopher C Jacob Alexandra A Fazeli Pariya L PL Vance David E DE
Chemosensory perception 20221110 2
<h4>Background</h4>Olfactory loss is associated with poor quality of life, malnutrition, and increased risk of depression, yet few studies have examined unawareness of olfactory dysfunction in men living with HIV (MLWH).<h4>Method</h4>MLWH (<i>n</i> = 51) completed olfaction self-ratings, psychophysical odor identification testing, cognitive measures, and questionnaires assessing smell habits, mood, cognitive failures, and quality of life. The sensitivity and specificity of olfactory self-rating ...[more]