Cultural adaptation of an olfactory test: the odour in bottle test. [corrected].

Abstract

Aim:Our objective was to create a culturally appropriate test of olfactory perception based on the Sniffin' Sticks test to determine the effects of age, gender, education level, and smoking on patients' sense of smell in Diyarbakır, Turkey. Material and Methods:A total of 180 subjects participated in the study including 111 males. These were patients at the Dicle University Otolaryngology Polyclinic and voluntarily participated in the study between June and December 2012. They were subdivided according to age: Group 1 included 100 patients between 18-35 years of age, Group 2 contained 50 patients between 36-55 years of age, and Group 3 was comprised of 30 patients over 55 years old. All subjects received olfactory testing with our modified Sniffin' Sticks test. Results:There was a significant negative correlation between olfactory perception scores and increasing age. No significant relationship was found between olfactory perception and gender. When olfaction scores were evaluated according to education level, it was found that subjects with lower education had significantly decreased olfaction scores. Smokers also had significantly lower olfactory perception scores when compared to nonsmokers. In terms of odorant identification, sesame and cumin were the least likely to be correctly identified, as they were recognized only 21% and 40% of the time, respectively. Conclusion:We created a culturally appropriate test of olfactory perception based on the Sniffin' Sticks test to determine the effects of age, gender, education level, and smoking on our local patients' sense of smell. Our results suggest that age and smoking status negatively affect olfaction, and cumin and sesame should be replaced by more culturally familiar odorants.

Biological sex as a modulator in rhinologic anatomy, physiology, and pathology: A scoping review

“…Three main subtests are evaluated when olfactory function is screened—odor identification, olfactory threshold, and odor discrimination. It has long been demonstrated that females outperform males in odor identification 16–20 . However on meta‐analysis comparing gender‐related differences in odor identification, this difference was only seen in patients aged 18 to 50 years 16 .…”

“…It has been postulated that these changes are secondary to contributions from fluctuating gonadal steroid levels and anatomical differences of the olfactory system not yet fully elucidated 16 . No significant differences have been noted based on sex for odor discrimination or olfactory threshold 19 …”