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Understanding Taste and Smell in Alcohol Use Disorder

This study is looking at how alcohol use disorder (AUD) might change a person's sense of taste and smell. Researchers want to compare these senses and drinking behaviors in people with and without AUD. The goal is to understand how alcohol affects taste and smell, and to find biological clues related to these changes. You can join if you are between 18 and 65 years old, with or without AUD. The study will measure your taste and smell, and ask about your eating, drinking, and smoking habits. This is an observational study, meaning no specific treatments are being tested.

Study design
This is an observational study with a planned enrollment of 475 participants. It compares taste and smell measures between individuals with and without Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).
What's involved
You will have two study visits. You will undergo tests for smell and taste, answer questions about your habits, have your body measured, and provide samples of blood, nasal mucus, saliva, stool, and urine.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Taste and smell measures, and alcohol drinking behavior are measured at enrollment. No further follow-up is specified.

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NCT05677321

Individual Variations of Taste and Smell Perception in Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)

Recruiting
Not specifiedAges 18–65Observational
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
~475 participants
Updated 2026-06-16 on ClinicalTrials.gov

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Taste and smell measures, alcohol drinking behavior
Measured over At enrollment

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder

Explore related trials

Alcohol use disorder

Where it's being run

1 sites across 1 states
Maryland1

Study leadership

  • Paule V Joseph, C.R.N.P. · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Who to contact

Chiquita L West
[email protected]
(240) 472-6423
Email the study team

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Do you actually qualify for this trial?

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Individuals between 18 to 65 years of age. Although the age range of participants recruited in the NIAAA Natural History protocol is between 18-77 years, due to documented knowledge that taste and smell diminishes with age, we will limit age to this range.
Individuals with a diagnosis of AUD (for the AUD cohort) OR without a diagnosis of AUD (for the non-AUD cohort) per clinician assessment
Able to provide their own consent.
Due to the extensive questionnaires (administered in English language only) that participants must complete independently, fluency in the English language is needed. Hence, participants must be able to read and understand English.

Exclusion

Diagnosis by a medical professional of morbid obesity or BMI \> 40 or renal disease.
Any history of chronic rhinitis, eating disorder, chronic upper respiratory infection, chronic allergic rhinitis, or nasal polyps in the last 6 months of screening, or current daily use of nasal sprays.
Altered cranial nerves associated with taste and olfaction identified by neurological evaluation during physical exam (screening visit).
Positive pregnancy test, currently pregnant or breastfeeding.
Hypoglycemic drug intake.
Currently using medications known to inhibit taste response (GLP1 agonists).
Currently experiencing temporary change/loss of taste and/or smell (individual may be rescreened when symptoms resolve).
Persistent loss of taste and/or smell due to COVID-19 or other reason.
NIAAA employees/staff or subordinates/relatives/co-workers of NIAAA employees/staff or study investigators.
Claustrophobia
Ferromagnetic metal in the cranial cavity or eye, e.g., aneurysm clip implanted neural stimulator, cochlear implant, ocular foreign body.
Presence of implanted cardiac pacemaker or auto-defibrillator.
Individuals with an insulin pump.
Presence of an irremovable body piercing.
Individuals who are pregnant or breastfeeding during screening, or who become pregnant during the study, will be excluded from participation due to risk of exposing the fetus to undue magnetic field hazards associated with MRI.

What this trial measures

  • Taste and smell measures, alcohol drinking behaviorAt enrollment

    Compare individuals with AUD to those without AUD in measures of taste and smell and alcohol drinking behaviors.