Chemical Senses and Mental Health Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Guangzhou Social Welfare Institute, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Early Interv Psychiatry. 2022 Feb;16(2):133-138. doi: 10.1111/eip.13136. Epub 2021 Mar 16.
Early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (EOCD) is a comparatively severe subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Olfactory dysfunction is a common symptom of OCD, but all previous studies have focused on late-onset OCD (LOCD).
The current study compared olfactory identification ability in EOCD patients and age-matched and sex-matched LOCD patients and healthy controls. Thirty patients with EOCD, 30 patients with LOCD and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. Olfactory function was measured using the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test. The Logical Memory and Visual Reproduction components of the Revised Wechsler Memory Scale were used to evaluate verbal and visual memory.
There were significant differences in olfactory identification ability between the three groups. EOCD patients were comparable to LOCD patients, while both patients' group showing worse olfactory identification ability than controls. Olfactory identification ability was not significantly correlated with verbal and visual memory or clinical symptoms in the EOCD group or the LOCD group.
The results of the present study suggest that olfactory identification ability may be a relatively stable indicator of OCD, independent of age, duration of illness, verbal and visual memory, and severity of clinical symptoms.
早发性强迫症（EOCD）是一种相对严重的强迫症（OCD）亚型。嗅觉功能障碍是 OCD 的常见症状，但以往所有研究都集中在迟发性 OCD（LOCD）上。
本研究比较了 EOCD 患者与年龄和性别匹配的 LOCD 患者和健康对照组的嗅觉识别能力。研究纳入了 30 名 EOCD 患者、30 名 LOCD 患者和 30 名健康对照者。嗅觉功能采用宾夕法尼亚大学嗅觉识别测试进行测量。韦氏记忆量表修订版的逻辑记忆和视觉再现分量表用于评估言语和视觉记忆。
三组间嗅觉识别能力存在显著差异。EOCD 患者与 LOCD 患者相当，而两组患者的嗅觉识别能力均较对照组差。EOCD 组和 LOCD 组的嗅觉识别能力与言语和视觉记忆或临床症状均无显著相关性。
本研究结果表明，嗅觉识别能力可能是 OCD 的一个相对稳定的指标，与年龄、病程、言语和视觉记忆以及临床症状严重程度无关。
