Characteristics of higher depressive tendency in the patients with olfactory disorder

• Published in: European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology 2024-09, Vol.281 (9), p.4817-4825
• Main Authors: Yonezawa, Nagomi, Mori, Eri, Tei, Masayoshi, Sekine, Rumi, Nagai, Monami, Tsurumoto, Yuka, Tanaka, Hirotaka, Otori, Nobuyoshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - etiology; Depression - psychology; Female; Head and Neck Surgery; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neurosurgery; Olfaction Disorders - epidemiology; Olfaction Disorders - etiology; Olfaction Disorders - psychology; Otorhinolaryngology; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Rhinology; Sex Factors
• ISSN: 0937-4477; 1434-4726; 1434-4726
• DOI: 10.1007/s00405-024-08612-1

Objective Most patients with olfactory dysfunction experience stress and anxiety because of the inconvenience and changes caused by the loss of olfaction. However, psychological assessment is not performed routinely in patients with olfactory dysfunction, and the characteristics of these patients with psychological depression are unclear. Methods In this study, we used the Self-rating Depression Scale to evaluate the degree of depression in patients who visited our clinic with olfactory dysfunction and examine the characteristics of these patients with strong depressive tendencies. Patients who visited our clinic between April 2019 and March 2020 with complaints of olfactory dysfunction were included in the study. Results A total of 180 patients (79 male and 101 female) underwent olfactory examination and completed the Self-rating Depression Scale. Eighty-six and 94 patients were included in the low depression and high depression groups, respectively. Binomial logistic regression analysis showed significant positive associations of Self-rating Depression Scale scores with female sex and the presence of parosmia/phantosmia (p