Download PDF
Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2025; 29(04): s00451810027
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1810027
Original Research

Impact of Head Trauma: How MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Affects the Sense of Smell, Cognition, and Quality of Life in Fighters

Authors

  • Guilherme Basso Durães 

    1   Department of Clinical Surgery, Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL), Londrina, PR, Brazil

  • José Lucas Barbosa da Silva Bortoleto Guerino 

    1   Department of Clinical Surgery, Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL), Londrina, PR, Brazil

  • Ellen Cristine Duarte Garcia 

    2   GEM, Londrina, PR, Brazil

  • Richard Louis Voegels 

    3   Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

  • Fábio de Rezende Pinna 

    3   Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

  • Marco Aurélio Fornazieri 

    1   Department of Clinical Surgery, Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL), Londrina, PR, Brazil
    2   GEM, Londrina, PR, Brazil
    3   Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
    4   Department of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Londrina, PR, Brazil
    5   Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, Smell and Taste Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States

Funding The author(s) received no financial support for the research.
Further Information
Also available at
  Permissions and Reprints
Preview

Abstract

Introduction

The sense of smell plays an essential role in well-being, influencing relationships, the formation of emotional memories, and protection against toxic substances in food and the environment. Post-traumatic olfactory loss is among the leading causes of olfactory alterations, especially in contact sports like Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), which involve frequent physical trauma, particularly to the head. To date, the relationship between olfactory dysfunction and head trauma in fighters remains underexplored.

Objective

To evaluate possible olfactory, gustatory, and cognitive dysfunctions in MMA fighters. Methods: Fourteen MMA fighters and 14 control participants, matched for sex and age, were recruited. The participants underwent tests to evaluate olfaction (Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), taste (Modified Global Gustatory Test), cognition (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA) and quality of life (The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire, SF-36).

Results

A statistically significant difference was found in olfactory function between the groups (p = 0.021), with fighters having a lower mean score than the control group (fighters: 28.5 ± 4.4 vs. controls: 31.8 ± 2.4). Additionally, MMA fighters showed cognitive decline and impairment in quality of life aspects. No difference was observed in gustatory function between the groups (p = 0.508).

Conclusion

The results indicate that MMA fighters exhibit impairments in olfactory function, as well as in cognition and quality of life. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed for a more in-depth analysis of the impact of this sport on athletes' lives.

Keywords

olfaction disorders - hyposmia - athletic injuries

Authors' Contributions

GBD: conceptualization, data curation, investigation, writing – original draft; JLBSBG: data curation, formal analysis, investigation, writing – original draft; ECDG: data curation, formal analysis, investigation, writing – original draft; RLV: resources, supervision, writing – review & editing; FRP: resources, supervision, writing – review & editing; MAF: conceptualization, resources, project administration, writing – review & editing.


Data Availability Statement

Data supporting the results of this study are available upon a reasonable request from the corresponding author.




Publication History

Received: 04 November 2024

Accepted: 24 May 2025

Article published online:
16 October 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua Rego Freitas, 175, loja 1, República, São Paulo, SP, CEP 01220-010, Brazil

Bibliographical Record
Guilherme Basso Durães, José Lucas Barbosa da Silva Bortoleto Guerino, Ellen Cristine Duarte Garcia, Richard Louis Voegels, Fábio de Rezende Pinna, Marco Aurélio Fornazieri. Impact of Head Trauma: How MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Affects the Sense of Smell, Cognition, and Quality of Life in Fighters. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2025; 29: s00451810027.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1810027