Risk Factors for Olfactory Dysfunction in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Introduction: Patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) often experience olfactory dysfunction; however, the relationship between disease duration and comorbidities remains unclear.

Materials and methods: An analytical observational study was conducted at the Endocrinology and Metabolic Polyclinicof the H. Adam Malik General Hospital, Medan. The study included 66 patients with type 2 DM who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected from medical records, questionnaires, routine ENT examinations, and the Sniffin' Sticks Test (P<0.05).

Results: No significant relationship was observed between sex and olfactory function in patients with type 2 DM. However, a significant correlation was observed between age and the olfactory function score (P = 0.012) as well as between the duration of type 2 DM and the olfactory function score (P= 0.005). There was no significant difference in olfactory function scores between patients with type 2 DM with and without comorbidities.

Conclusions: This study revealed that increasing age and the duration of type 2 DM correlated with declining olfactory function. However, no differences were observed in olfactory function between patients with type 2 DM with and without comorbidities. These findings provide additional insights into the factors that influence olfactory function in patients with type 2 DM.