Table 1.

Different close social relationships and their links to olfactory impairment with research examples

	Implications of olfactory impairment	Research examples
Family relationships	Bonding and attachment	Mothers ability to identify their infant’s odor and bonding difficulties are linked (Croy et al. 2019)
	Social support	Infants smelling their mother’s scent show reduced pain reactions and lower heart rates in response to a stressor (Akcan and Polat 2016)
Friendship relationships	Eating behaviors	Anosmics report that they avoid eating with others (Croy et al. 2012)
	Hygiene concerns	Anosmics report more concern about how others perceive their body odors (Blomqvist et al. 2004)
	Social functioning/support	Persons with worse olfactory function were more likely to report loneliness (Desiato et al. 2020)
Romantic relationships	Eating behaviors	Anosmic individuals report asking their spouse or family member to taste foods they believe to be spoiled (Nordin et al, 2011)
	Sexual behaviors	Anosmic men have less sexual partners and anosmic women experience decreased partnership security (Croy et al. 2013)
	Social functioning/support	The body odor of a partner has the capacity to alter stress levels (Hofer et al. 2018)