The perception of odor is not a surrogate marker for chemical exposure: a review of factors influencing human odor perception

Context. Clinical toxicologists perform risk assessments and clinical evaluations for patients with potential exposure to airborne toxicants in which the patient's self-reported perception of odor may be the only indicator that an exposure may have taken place. Objective. To review the factors that may affect the human ability to perceive chemical odors and relate those odors to specific chemical exposures. Methods. The medical literature, from 1950 through 2012, was searched using the OVID database and the PUBMED database. The searches returned 238 articles, of which 113 involved human studies and were published in the English language. Of these 113 articles, 40 articles discussed odor issues and thus were chosen as specifically relevant to the topic. Bibliographies of all articles were also searched for other relevant references and this found six additional articles, making a total of 46. Factors that may affect olfaction and the ability to perceive odor. Genetic/population. Ethnic background is associ...