Olfactory reference syndrome

Olfactory reference syndrome (ORS) is a psychiatric condition in which there is a persistent false belief and preoccupation with the idea of emitting abnormal body odors which the patient thinks are foul and offensive to other individuals. People with this condition often misinterpret others' behaviors, e.g. sniffing, touching their nose or opening a window, as being referential to an unpleasant body odor which in reality is non-existent and cannot be detected by other people.

This disorder is often accompanied by shame, embarrassment, significant distress, avoidance behavior, social phobia and social isolation.

Signs and symptoms

The onset of ORS may be sudden, where it usually follows after a precipitating event, or gradual.

Odor complaint

The defining feature of ORS is excessive thoughts of having offensive body odor(s) which are detectable to others. The individual may report that the odor comes from: the nose and/or mouth, i.e. halitosis (bad breath); the anus; the genitals; the skin generally; or specifically the groin, armpits or feet. The source(s) of the supposed odor may also change over time. There are also some who are unsure of the exact origin of the odor. The odor is typically reported to be continuously present. The character of the odor may be reported as similar to bodily substances, e.g. feces, flatus, urine, sweat, vomitus, semen, vaginal secretions; or alternatively it may be an unnatural, non-human or chemical odor, e.g. ammonia, detergent, rotten onions, burnt rags, candles, garbage, burning fish, medicines, old cheese. Again, the reported character of the odor complaint may change over time. Halitosis appears to be the most common manifestation of ORS, with 75% complaining of bad breath, alone or in combination with other odors. The next most common complaint was sweat (60%).

Although all individuals with ORS believe they have an odor, in some cases the individual reports they cannot perceive the odor themselves. In the latter cases, the belief arises via misinterpretation of the behavior of others or with the rationale that a disorder of smell which prevents self detection of the odor (i.e. anosmia) exists. In the cases where the non-existent odor can be detected, this is usually considered as phantosmia ( olfactory hallucination). Olfactory hallucination can be considered the result of the belief in an odor delusion, or the belief a result of the olfactory hallucination. In one review, the individual with ORS was unreservedly convinced that he or she could detect the odor themselves in 22% of cases, whilst in 19% there was occasional or intermittent detection and in 59% lack of self-detection was present.

Some distinguish ''delusional'' and ''non-delusional'' forms of ORS. In the delusional type, there is complete conviction that the odor is real. In the non-delusional type, the individual is capable of some insight into the condition, and can recognize that the odor might not be real, and that their level of concern is excessive. Others argue that reported cases of ORS present a spectrum of different levels of insight. Since sometimes the core belief of ORS is not of delusional intensity, it is argued that considering the condition as a form of delusional disorder, as seems to occur in the DSM, is inappropriate. In one review, in 57% of cases the beliefs were fixed, held with complete conviction, and the individual could not be reassured that the odor was non existent. In 43% of cases the individual held the beliefs with less than complete conviction, and was able to varying degrees to consider the possibility that the odor was not existent.

Other symptoms may be reported and are claimed to be related to the cause of the odor, such as malfunction of the anal sphincter, a skin disease, "diseased womb", stomach problems or other unknown organic disease. Excessive washing in ORS has been reported to cause the development of eczema.

Referential ideas

People with ORS misinterpret the behavior of others to be related to the imagined odor ( thoughts of reference). In one review, ideas of reference were present in 74% of cases. Usually, these involve misinterpretations of comments, gestures and actions of other people such that it is believed that an offensive smell from the individual is being referred to. These thoughts of reference are more pronounced in social situations which the individual with ORS may find stressful, such as public transport, crowded lift, workplace, classroom, etc. Example behaviors which are misinterpreted include coughing, sneezing, turning of the head, opening a window, facial expressions, sniffing, touching nose, scratching head, gestures, moving away, avoiding the person, whistling. Commonly, when being in proximity to others who are talking among themselves, persons with ORS will be convinced that the conversation is about his or her odor. Even the actions of animals (e.g. barking of dogs) can be interpreted as referential to an odor. Persons with ORS may have trouble concentrating at a given task or in particular situations due to obsessive thoughts concerning body odor.

Repetitive behavior

95% of persons with ORS engage in at least one excessive hygiene, grooming or other related repetitive practice in an attempt to alleviate, mask and monitor the perceived odor. This has been described as a contrite reaction, and repetitive, counterphobic, "safety", ritual or compulsive behaviors. Despite these measures, the odor symptom is reported to still offend other people. Example ORS behaviors include: repetitive showering and other grooming behaviors, excessive tooth brushing, or tongue scraping (a treatment for halitosis), repeated smelling of oneself to check for any odor, over-frequent bathroom use, attempts to mask the odor, with excessive use of deodorants, perfumes, mouthwash, mint, chewing gum, scented candles, and soap; changing clothes (e.g. underwear), multiple times per day, frequent washing of clothes, wearing several layers of clothing, wrapping feet in plastic, wearing garments marketed as odor-reducing, eating special diets, dietary supplements (e.g. intended to reduce flatulence odor), repeatedly seeking reassurance from others that there is no odor, although the negative response is usually interpreted instead as politeness rather than truth, and avoidance behaviors such as habitually sitting at a distance from others, minimizing movement in an attempt "not to spread the odor", keeping the mouth closed and avoiding talking or talking with a hand in front of the mouth.

Functional impairment

Persons with ORS tend to develop a behavior pattern of avoidance of social activities and progressive social withdrawal. They often avoid travel, dating, relationships, break off engagements and avoid family activities. Due to shame and embarrassment, they may avoid school or work, or repeatedly change jobs and move to another town. Significant developments may occur such as loss of employment, divorce, becoming housebound, psychiatric hospitalization, and suicide attempts. According to some reports, 74% of persons with ORS avoid social situations, 47% avoid work, academic or other important activities, 40% had been housebound for at least one week because of ORS, and 31.6% had experienced psychiatric hospitalization. With regards to suicide, reports range from 43 to 68% with suicidal ideation, and 32% with a history of at least one suicide attempt. 5.6% died by suicide.

Psychiatric co-morbidity

Psychiatric co-morbidity in ORS is reported. Depression, which is often severe, may be a result of ORS, or may be pre-existing. Personality disorders, especially cluster C, and predominantly the avoidant type, may exist with ORS. Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, hypochondriasis, alcohol or drug abuse and obsessive compulsive disorder may also be co-morbid with ORS.

Causes

The causes of ORS are unknown. It is thought that significant negative experiences may trigger the development of ORS. These have been considered as two types: key traumatic experiences related to smell, and life stressors present when the condition developed but which were unrelated to smell. In one review, 85% of reported cases had traumatic, smell-related experiences, and 17% of cases had stress factors unrelated to smell. Reported smell-related experiences usually revolve around family members, friends, co-workers, peers or other people making comments about an odor from the person, which causes embarrassment and shame. Examples include accusation of flatulence during a religious ceremony, or being bullied for flatulence such at school, accidental urination in class, announcements about a passenger needing to use deodorant over speaker by a driver on public transport, sinusitis which caused a bad taste in the mouth, mockery about a fish odor from a finger which had been inserted into the person's vagina in the context of a sexual assault, and revulsion about menarche and brother's sexual intimacy. It has been suggested that a proportion of such reported experiences may not have been real, but rather early symptom of ORS (i.e. referential thoughts). Examples of non smell-related stressful periods include guilt due to a romantic affair, being left by a partner, violence in school, family illness when growing up (e.g. cancer), and bullying.

The importance of a family history of mental illness or other conditions in ORS is unclear, because most reported cases have lacked this information. In some cases, there has been reported psychiatric and medical conditions in first degree relatives such as schizophrenia, psychosis, alcoholism, suicide, affective disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, paranoia, neurosis, sociopathy, and epilepsy. Sometimes more than one family member had a noteworthy condition.

Neuroimaging has been used to investigate ORS. Hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime single-photon emission computed tomography (HMPAO SPECT) demonstrated hypoperfusion of the frontotemporal lobe in one case. That is to say, part of the brain was receiving insufficient blood flow. In another, functional magnetic resonance imaging was carried out while the person with ORS listened to both neutral words and emotive words. Compared to an age and sex matched healthy control subject under the same conditions, the individual with ORS showed more activation areas in the brain when listening to emotionally loaded words. This difference was described as abnormal, but less pronounced as would be observed in the brain of a person with a psychotic disorder.

Diagnosis

Classification

Although the existence of ORS is generally accepted, there is some controversy as to whether it is a distinct condition or merely a part or manifestation of other psychiatric conditions, mainly due to the overlapping similarities. Similarly, there is controversy with regards how the disorder should be classified. As ORS has obsessive and compulsive features, some consider it as a type of obsessive–compulsive spectrum disorder, while others consider it an anxiety disorder due to the strong anxiety component. It is also suggested to be a type of body dysmorphic disorder or, as it involves a single delusional belief, some suggest that ORS is a monosymptomatic hypochondriacal psychosis (hypochondriacal type of delusional disorder, see monothematic delusion).

The World Health Organization's 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) does not have a specific entry for ORS, or use the term, but in the "persistent delusional disorders" section, states delusions can "express a conviction that others think that they smell."

ORS has also never been allocated a dedicated entry in any edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In the third edition (DSM-III), ORS was mentioned under "atypical somatoform disorder

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