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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Mar;278(3):883-891.
doi: 10.1007/s00405-020-06316-w. Epub 2020 Sep 10.

Olfactory function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-analysis study

Giannicola Iannella  1   2 , Giuseppe Magliulo  3 , Antonino Maniaci  4 , Giuseppe Meccariello  5 , Salvatore Cocuzza  4 , Giovanni Cammaroto  5 , Riccardo Gobbi  5 , Rossella Sgarzani  6 , Elisabetta Firinu  5 , Ruggero Massimo Corso  7 , Annalisa Pace  3 , Giampiero Gulotta  3 , Irene Claudia Visconti  3 , Milena Di Luca  4 , Stefano Pelucchi  8 , Giulia Bianchi  8 , Michela Melegatti  8 , Pietro Abita  9 , Carmen Solito  3 , Ignazio La Mantia  4 , Calogero Grillo  4 , Claudio Vicini  3   8
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Olfactory function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-analysis study

Giannicola Iannella et al. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: This meta-analysis study was designed to analyze the olfactory function in obstructive sleep apnea patients (OSA).

Methods: A comprehensive review of the English language literature regarding OSA patients and olfactory function/dysfunction was performed. The papers assessing olfactory dysfunction with Sniffin' Sticks test were taken into consideration.

Results: A total of 420 OSA patients were judged eligible for the study. The average TDI score was found to be 24.3 ± 5.6. The olfactory identification (OD), the olfactory discrimination (OD), and the olfactory threshold (OT) average values were calculated resulting 9.9 ± 2.1, 9.8 ± 1.5, and 5.3 ± 2, respectively. There were 161 healthy control subjects in this meta-analysis. The average TDI of the control group was 30.7 ± 6.0 showing a statistical difference with the group of OSA patients (p = 0.03). A linear correlation between Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) increase and TDI decrease (R2 = 0.1, p = 0.05) was detected. Finally, the average values of TDI of 151 patients classified as mild-moderate OSA and 159 patients considered as severe OSA were calculated. The difference between these two groups resulted not statistically significant (p = 0.3).

Conclusion: The comparison between OSA patients and healthy subjects using Sniffin' Sticks test showed lower values of the various olfactory parameters. Although a linear correlation between AHI increase and olfactory dysfunction was observed, no statistical difference between mild-moderate and severe OSA patients in terms of the severity of olfactory dysfunction could be proved.

Keywords: Cholinergic disorders; Obstructive sleep apnea; Olfactory function; Sniffin’ Sticks test.

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References

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