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The Fear of Smell: The Relationship Between Obsessive Traits and Self-odor Concern

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

S. Tempia Valenta ,
C. Bronte ,
F. Panariello ,
F. Bonazzoli ,
D. De Ronchi  and
A. R. Atti
S. Tempia Valenta*
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
C. Bronte
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
F. Panariello
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
F. Bonazzoli
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
D. De Ronchi
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
A. R. Atti
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

DSM-5’s framing of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (OCRDs) paved the way for the increasingly structured definition of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. The spectrum would include, among others, body dysmorphia, hair-pulling, skin-picking, obsessional jealousy, and olfactory reference syndrome (ORS). ORS – i.e., persistent concern about emitting a foul or offensive body odor – causes clinically significant distress or impairment in several areas of functioning.

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between obsessive traits and self-odor concern in a clinical sample that did not meet the diagnostic criteria for either OCRDs or ORS.

Methods

In a sample of 220 adults referring to an outpatient Mental Health Service in Bologna, Northern Italy, we measured (1) self-odor concern through two specific items – sweat hatred (SH) and body odor hatred (BOH) – on the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT) and (2) obsessive traits through the total score of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R). Therefore, we performed correlation and regression analysis to examine the relationship between obsessive-compulsive traits and self-odor concern.

Results

We found a positive correlation between OCI-R and SH scores (r = 0.330) and OCI-R and BOH scores (r = 0.188). Linear regression analysis demonstrated that OCI-R score significantly predicted SH score [F(1, 218) = 26.455, R2 = 0.109, p < 0.001] and BOH score [F(1, 218) = 8.017, R2 = 0.035, p = 0.005], highlighting that obsessive-compulsive traits predict both sweat and body odor hatred.

Conclusions

These results demonstrate that obsessive traits and self-odor concern are strictly connected. This knowledge may allow us, even in the absence of an overt diagnosis of OCRDs or ORS, to better identify an at-risk population before it suffers impairment in functioning. Overall, further research is needed to help characterize obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders before symptom exacerbation.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S931
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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