Masala C , Oleszkiewicz A, Benzien C, Cuevas M, Nahrath P, Hähner A, Hummel T

Introduction: Few and contradictory data are available regarding the role of the olfactory and gustatory function on the body mass index (BMI) changes. Aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of olfactory and gustatory function on BMI changes in different age ranges. Materials and Methods: Four thousand three hundred and ninety patients (2564 women, 1826 men) were included in this retrospective study, with an age range from 18 to 95 years and a mean age of 56.6 years (SD 13.8). For each patient we collected detailed otorhinolaryngological examination, structured history, data on olfactory and gustatory function using the Sniffin’ Sticks test battery and the “taste sprays” test, respectively. Among 4390 patients enrolled in this study, 384 (9%) had an age range from 18-35 years, 1499 (34%) had an age range from 36-55 years and 2507 (57%) had an age range >55 years. Results: Our data indicated negative correlations between BMI and taste spray total score, thus subjects with low gustatory function being more prone to obesity. Moreover, the multivariate linear regression analyses indicated that age, sex, taste spray total score and the duration olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were predictors of BMI changes. Conclusions: Our data, in line to previous studies, suggest a significant correlation between BMI and age and sex. In addition, we observed a small but significant effect of olfactory and gustatory function on BMI changes. These data are important in order to understand the role of the chemical senses in the control weight gain and loss.