The relationship between subjective annoyance from odours in ambient air and behavioral patterns of industrial city residents: a hygienic aspect

Introduction. The presence of odours in the atmospheric air constitutes a significant hygienic and social challenge for the population of urbanized industrial centers. Along with the risk of chemical toxication, olfactory stimuli act as a factor of prolonged stress, adversely affecting the psycho-emotional state and somatic health of the population, as well as provoking forced changes in daily behavior. The study of behavioral responses to olfactory discomfort is important for assessing the quality of life and developing targeted preventive measures.

The aim of the study. Systematization and analysis of population behavioral responses to the presence of unpleasant odours from industrial facilities in the air and study of the dependence of these responses on perception parameters (regularity of occurrence, odour intensity, and level of annoyance).

Materials and methods. The initial dataset was generated during a 2022 survey (Glazov, seven hundred nineteen respondents). Questions covered characteristics related to odour perception (frequency, intensity, degree of annoyance) and measures taken by residents when facing environmental problems. To identify groups of respondents with similar behavioral patterns, cluster analysis (k-means) was applied.

Results. Three behavioral patterns of response to olfactory annoyance were identified. The group with an active position (16.4% of respondents), characterized by submitting appeals to regulatory authorities, demonstrated the highest level of odour annoyance (5.33 out of 10), reported somatic and emotional symptoms more frequently, and had a higher prevalence of chronic diseases, predominantly of the respiratory and allergic profile. Participants with passive strategies — adaptation (42.8%) and avoidance (39.4%) — rated the level of annoyance significantly lower (4.63 and 4.43 points). Representatives of the active group significantly more often characterized the quality of the living environment at the place of residence as unfavorable and took into account the potential impact of pollutants when choosing places for recreation.

Limitations. The main limitation relates to the correlation character of the study, and the lack of accounting for other stress factors (e.g., noise), which may exert combined effects with odours.

Conclusion. The relationship was revealed between the intensity of odour annoyance and the strategies of population behavioral response, which emphasizes the need to account for subjective and behavioral indicators when conducting a hygienic assessment of atmospheric air pollution.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was approved at a meeting of the Local Ethical Committee of the Centre for Strategic Planning of the Federal medical biological agency of Russia (protocol No. 01/10/21 dated 10/25/2021).

Contributions:
Goshin M.E. – study concept and design, data collection and processing, statistical analysis, data interpretation, and writing;
Budarina O.V. – study concept, results interpretation, and writing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study was carried out within the framework of state task No.1025061000007-6-3.3.5.

Received: November 10, 2025 / Revised: March 6, 2026 / Accepted: October 15, 2025 / Published: April 17, 2026

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