OLFACTORY DYSFUNCTION IN ANOREXIA AND BULIMIA-NERVOSA

Fifty-five eating-disordered women and 16 normal controls participated in this study to determine whether olfactory function is altered in p atients with food-restricting anorexia, anorexia with bulimic features , and bulimia nervosa. Olfactory function was assessed using the Unive rsity of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test and by determining phe nyl ethyl alcohol odor detection thresholds. Only the very low-weight anorexics showed impairments in their identification and detection of odors. This group's olfactory function did not improve from admission to discharge despite significant weight gain. Although, overall, smoki ng had only a minor influence on olfactory function, the very low-weig ht anorexic smokers had the lowest scores of all subjects. Since highe r-weight anorexics did not show such impairments, the results suggest that the severe and prolonged starvation experienced by the very low-w eight anorexics caused or contributed to intractable deficits in the o lfactory system and that these deficits are compounded by smoking. (C) 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.