Olfactory Characterization and Training in Older Adults: Protocol Study

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the research protocol for a prospective cohort study that will assess the olfactory function and the effect of an intervention based on olfactory training in healthy very old adults (≥75 years old). A convenience sample of 180 older people (50% female) will be recruited in three different environments: hospitalized control group (CH) with stable acute illness (n = 60); ambulatory control group (CA) of community-based living (n = 60); and an experimental odor training group (EOT) from nursing homes (n = 60). The odor training (OT) intervention will last 12 weeks. All the volunteers will be assessed at baseline; CA and EOT groups will also be assessed after 12 weeks. The primary end point will be change in olfactory capacity from baseline to 12 weeks period of intervention or control. The intervention effects will be assessed with the overall score achieved in Sniffin Sticks Test (SST) – Threshold, Discrimination, and Identification (TDI) extended version. Secondary end points will be changes in cognitive tasks, quality of life, mood, immune status, and functional capacity. All these measurements will be complemented with an immune fitness characterization and a deep proteome profiling of the olfactory epithelium (OE) cultured ex vivo. The current study will provide additional evidence to support the implementation of olfactory precision medicine and the development of immunomodulatory nasal therapies based on non-invasive procedures. The proposed intervention will also intend to increase the knowledge about the olfactory function in very elderly people, improve function and quality of life, and promote the recovery of the health.

Sensory Stimulation Activities Improving Quality of Life of Elderly People in Elderly Communities

“…Taher (2015) stated that an eight-week intervention with multi-sensory stimulation had a significant effect on cognitive function and quality of life in the elderly. In this study, there were 10 activities used to stimulate the sensors in the form of gymnastics (Wahyuni & Arifiati 2021), listening to music (Wattanasoei, et al 2017), gardening (Soga, et al 2017), leisure making fruit salad (Nurhidayah, 2018), paired balloon dancing (Hernandes, et al 2018), games such as throwing a ball into a basket, moving marbles by walking on a line (Gray, 2020), brain games playing guessing pictures (McLaughlin, et al 2018), smell sensation such as guessing the aroma, taste , texture (Zambom-Ferraresi, et al 2021), brain gym such as guessing pictures (Andi, et al 2019).…”

“…Smell sensation is an intervention aimed at treating loss of smell. Zambom-Ferraresi, et al (2021) stated that smell sensation intervention can reduce symptoms of depression, increase odor detection, subjective wellbeing such as happiness, life satisfaction, improve mood, which can have an impact on improving quality of life. In this study, the smell sensation activity was guessing the aroma, taste and texture.…”

Odor familiarity and improvement of olfactory identification test in Chinese population

“…Olfaction is an important sense that can regulate emotions, affects cognition and behavior (Liu et al, 2020 ; Zambom-Ferraresi et al, 2021 ), and also reminds us of dangers in the environment (Husain et al, 2021 ). It can be impaired by chronic rhinosinusitis, head trauma, infections, aging, long-term smoking, alcoholism, metabolic diseases, and autoimmune diseases (Topan et al, 2021 ).…”

Overnight olfactory enrichment using an odorant diffuser improves memory and modifies the uncinate fasciculus in older adults

“…Olfactory enrichment improves olfactory ability in humans with olfactory loss due to post-infection olfactory dysfunction ( Konstantinidis et al, 2013 , 2016 ; Damm et al, 2014 ; Geißler et al, 2014 ), head trauma ( Huang et al, 2021 ), Parkinson’s ( Haehner et al, 2013 ), or aging ( Zambom-Ferraresi et al, 2021 ). These results were achieved with daily exposure to four odorants that represented the resinous, flowery, fruity, and aromatic odor groups.…”