Congenital Anosmia: Living Without Smell and the Impact on Breathing

Smell is one of the most powerful senses, with a deep and direct link to memory and emotions. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t associate the smell of brewing coffee with a feeling of comfort. But did you know that some people are born without this ability?

This is the reality for those living with congenital anosmia, a condition that deserves our attention.

What is Congenital Anosmia?

Congenital anosmia is a rare genetic condition that causes the partial or total absence of smell from birth. According to the author of the study this article is based on, it affects approximately 1 in 10,000 people.

For those with this condition, the world is experienced differently. The emotional sensation that the smell of coffee evokes, for example, doesn’t exist. This happens because smell is not just a register of scents, but a direct pathway to the limbic system, the brain’s emotional and memory center.

However, the impacts of this condition go far beyond the relationship with memories. A recent study revealed something surprising: people with congenital anosmia breathe differently.

The Surprising Link Between Anosmia and Breathing

The study, titled “Humans without a sense of smell breathe differently,” found that the breathing of those with congenital anosmia has a significant reduction in respiratory peaks.

But what does this mean? These “peaks” are actually the short, unconscious “sniffs” we all use to explore the environment around us. The study suggests that, without the sense of smell, the brain does not initiate this exploratory behavior in the same way.

The Research Details

To reach this conclusion, the research followed 21 people with congenital anosmia and 31 with normal smell (self-reported). For 24 hours, both groups wore a wearable device that accurately recorded their nasal airflow.

The results were noteworthy: people with normal smell had about 240 additional neural waves per hour. This data suggests that nasal breathing is not just a physical act to get oxygen; it is closely linked to neural activity and cognition.

Smell, Breathing, and Quality of Life

This discovery is an important warning. Congenital anosmia, by altering breathing patterns, can compromise quality of life, generating impacts that, according to the study, may even influence life expectancy.

If nasal breathing influences neural activity, it indirectly affects cognitive and emotional functions, such as memory and emotional processing. After all, the absence of smell and the change in breathing impact how people interact with and process their environment.

Limitations and the Path Forward

Although the results are an alert, the researchers themselves point out important limitations in the study:

• Control Group: The confirmation of normal smell was done by self-declaration, without validated olfactory tests.
• Oral Airflow: The study did not measure airflow through the mouth, which could provide a more complete analysis of respiratory patterns (for example, if the person compensates by breathing more through the mouth).

Even with these limitations, the research is fundamental. The authors recommend more investigation to deepen the relationship between breathing, cognition, and congenital anosmia. Understanding this connection is the first step toward developing interventions that can improve the quality of life for these individuals.