Sniffing other people's body odour can help manage social anxiety, new research suggests.

Scientists from Sweden took armpit sweat from volunteers who watched either happy or scary film clips, and then used the samples alongside more traditional mindfulness therapy to treat social anxiety.

Some 48 women who suffer from social anxiety were exposed to clean air and others to body odour

The research found that mindfulness was more effective when combined with sniffing the body odour.

Patients who completed a mindfulness session while exposed to body odours saw a 39% reduction in social anxiety. There was a 17% reduction for those without body odour.

Although researchers said more research needs to be done to confirm the relationship between body odours and social anxiety, they said there is something about human sweat that affects the response to treatment.

"It may be that simply being exposed to the presence of someone else has this effect, but we need to confirm this," Lead researcher Elisa Vigna from the Karolinska Institute was quoted by Sky News as saying.

Social anxiety disorder, sometimes known as social phobia, is a type of anxiety disorder that causes anxiety or fear in social settings. Patients have an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others.

Currently, the available treatment options include antidepressant medicines, cognitive behavioural therapy and guided self-help.