Researcher Says Why Some Can’t Smell Roses

An Israeli researcher says the reason why some women put on too much perfume is that they are depressed, because depression affects the olfactory glands.

Dr. Yehuda Shoenfeld of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University in Israel said the findings suggest that women who are depressed are also losing their sense of smell, and may overcompensate by using more perfume.

Women who are depressed are also more likely to lose weight — with a reduced sense of smell, they are less likely to have a healthy appetite, Shoenfeld says.

We believe that depression has biological roots and may be an immune system response to certain physiological cues, Shoenfeld says.

Shoenfeld, who has studied autoimmune diseases, said in lupus patients and those with other autoimmune diseases, a particle known as an autoantibody attacks the person’s own immune system. This particle is a real novelty, Shoenfeld says in a statement. We have found that, when generated, it weakens a person’s sense of smell and can induce the feeling of depression.

The findings are published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.