ArticleBMJ case reports2022
Desiderosmia: a manifestation of iron deficiency in pregnancy.
Article in BMJ case reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.
- Olfactory function and an explanatory model of pica revealed through a case report.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Article
- Relationship Between "Geosminophilia" (Liking the Smell of Earth) and Pica in Patients With Iron Deficiency.Cureus · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A pregnant woman in her 20s presented with an excessive desire to smell a specific household cleaning product. She was found to have severe iron deficiency anaemia and her symptoms resolved following intravenous iron supplementation. She described symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath and olfactory cravings. The specific scent could not be replicated with other smells and the woman had to significantly modify her lifestyle to accommodate the excessive desire. She had a similar experience during her prior pregnancy which resolved after the correction of severe iron deficiency anaemia. This unique symptom has been described as desiderosmia: iron deficiency manifesting as olfactory cravings. This underappreciated but useful symptom is defined as a separate entity to pica, as there is an absence of desire to ingest the product. Desiderosmia can harm mother and baby through inhalation of potentially harmful fumes; hence, women who describe this symptom should be assessed for iron deficiency anaemia.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.