Background: Many studies have identified a higher degree of Olfactory Dysfunction (OD) in Black patients compared to White patients. This study aims to analyze olfactory outcomes in different races.
Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL databases were searched from inception to September 5, 2022, for English-language articles documenting self-reported and psychophysical OD stratified by race. A meta-analysis of proportions, comparison of weighted proportions, and comparison of means were performed in MedCalc 20.218. In the quantitative analysis, 79,297 patients were included, comprising 79.3% Whites, 16.1% Blacks, and 4.6% Hispanics.
Results: A total of 14 studies were meta-analyzed. The prevalence of self-reported OD in Hispanic, White, and Black patients was 19.5% (95% CI, 16.6% to 22.6%), 17.2% (95% CI, 10.5% to 25.0%), and 13.9% (95% CI, 9.3% to 19.2%), respectively (p < 0.0007). The prevalence of psychophysical OD in Black, White, and Hispanic patients was 30.3% (95% CI, 24.2% to 36.9%), 24.2% (95% CI, 20.1% to 28.5%), and 18.4% (95% CI, 16.3% to 20.7%), respectively (p < 0.0001). Blacks reported a greater extent of unrecognized OD compared to Whites, with a difference of 16.5% (95% CI, 15.0% to 17.9%) versus 5.8% (95% CI, 3.4% to 8.0%), respectively (p < 0.0001). Hispanic rates of self-reported OD and psychophysical OD were not statistically different.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that Blacks have the highest rate of psychophysical OD and are more likely to underreport their awareness compared to Whites.
Keywords: health disparity; olfaction; olfactory dysfunction; race; racial disparity.
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