Iran Smell Identification Test (Iran-SIT): a Modified Version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) for Iranian Population

Abstract

The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (SIT) is the most cited olfactory test in the literature because it is easy to perform and there is high test-retest reliability. There were no standardized olfaction values in a normal Brazilian population. Aim: To measure the SIT score in a group of Brazilians, and to assess the level of difficulty when implementing the test. Study design: A cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: The SIT was applied in 25 Brazilian volunteers of various income levels who presented no olfactory complaints. Following the test, subjects answered a questionnaire with a visual analog scale (VAS) for the level of difficulty. Results: The mean in the sample of Brazilians was 32.5 (SD: 3.48) our of 40; this is below what is considered normal for US citizens. The level of difficulty was on average 26 mm (SD: 24.68) in the VAS, but it trended towards easy; 4(16%) participants did not recognize some of the odors under 'alternatives'. Conclusion: In this pilot study, there was evidence of good test applicability; the score of the sample of Brazilians was just below normosmia. Further studies are needed to confirm the existence of differences between people of different income levels. ORIGINAL ARTICLE Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2010;76(6):695-9. BJORL

Olfactory Response as a Marker for Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence from Perceptual and Frontal Oscillation Coherence Deficit

“…Due to the culture-specific nature of smell perception, the reliability of these tests has to be evaluated in different populations (2) (37). Localized versions of the UPSIT test kit have been introduced in countries such as Brazil (23), Turkey (24), Lithuania (25), and Iran (16) (for an exhaustive review refer to (14)).…”

“…In addition to the mentioned assessment methods, previous studies have shown that olfactory deficit is an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease (12) (13). Further studies have demonstrated that standard methods of assessing olfactory system such as sniffing kits can be helpful in distinguishing AD patients from healthy individuals (14) (15) (16).…”

“…Our EEG analysis comprises an assessment of the statistical significance of the coherence in the EEG data across the spatial domain for different frequency bands. In the behavioral olfactory response data, our approach identifies the best subset of odorants among those in a localized version of the UPSIT kit (Iran-SIT (16)), which significantly contributes to classifying AD patients from healthy participants. MMSE scores are also used as reference for evaluating our olfactory-based results.…”

A Comparative Study of Iranian Smell Identification Test (Iran-SIT) and Single-photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Results in Discrimination of Anosmia and Malingering in Forensic Cases

“…Individuals with significantly lower levels of performance are determined as malingerers 6 . Iran Smell Identification Test (Iran-SIT) [17] , a standardized 40-item smell identification test is a modified version of UPSIT to assess the olfactory function of Iranian population considering cultural adaption. It has the adequacy to classify olfactory disorders into four levels: normosmia (the normal olfactory function), mild microsmia (mildly decreased olfactory function), severe microsmia (severely decreased olfactory function) and anosmia (loss of olfactory function).…”

“…Other disadvantages that have decreased the clinical popularity of brain SPECT are high costs, unreliable supply of radiopharmaceuticals like Tc-99m, longer acquisition time which in turn increases the risk of patient motion and also dependency to patient preparation, cooperation and consciousness [15,17,19,20] .…”