The Proportion of Self-Rated Olfactory Dysfunction does not Change across the Life Span

Shu, Chih Hung; Hummel, Thomas; Lee, Po Lei; Chiu, Cheng-Hung; Lin, Shih Hsiang; Yuan, Ben Chih

doi:10.2500/ajra.2009.23.3343

Cited by 57 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Similarly, the cross-sectional follow-up analyses conducted in this study suggest that olfactory ratings are only weakly related to the distribution of scores on olfactory tests, which is in agreement with previous research (Murphy et al, 2002;Shu et al, 2009;Wehling et al, 2011). A possible explanation for this apparent unreliability of olfactory self-evaluations might be that individuals are often unaware of their olfactory abilities compared to those of other people.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Olfactory Impairment and Subjective Olfactory Complaints Independently Predict Conversion to Dementia: A Longitudinal, Population-Based Study

Stanciu

Larsson

Nordin

et al. 2014

J Int Neuropsychol Soc

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examined whether conversion to dementia can be predicted by self-reported olfactory impairment and/or by an inability to identify odors. Common forms of dementia involve an impaired sense of smell, and poor olfactory performance predicts cognitive decline among the elderly. We followed a sample of 1529 participants, who were within a normal range of overall cognitive function at baseline, over a 10-year period during which 159 were classified as having a dementia disorder. Dementia conversion was predicted from demographic variables, Mini-Mental State Examination score, and olfactory assessments. Self-reported olfactory impairment emerged as an independent predictor of dementia. After adjusting for effects of other predictors, individuals who rated their olfactory sensitivity as ''worse than normal'' were more likely to convert to dementia than those who reported normal olfactory sensitivity (odds ratio [OR] 5 2.17; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.40, 3.37]). Additionally, low scores on an odor identification test also predicted conversion to dementia (OR per 1 point increase 5 0.89; 95% CI [0.81, 0.98]), but these two effects were additive. We suggest that assessing subjective olfactory complaints might supplement other assessments when evaluating the risk of conversion to dementia. Future studies should investigate which combination of olfactory assessments is most useful in predicting dementia conversion. (JINS, 2014, 20, 209-217)

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Olfactory Impairment and Subjective Olfactory Complaints Independently Predict Conversion to Dementia: A Longitudinal, Population-Based Study

Stanciu

Larsson

Nordin

et al. 2014

J Int Neuropsychol Soc

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although this is not always a presenting complaint, many studies show the incidence of decreased olfactory function increasing very significantly with age, to 50% or more of those Ͼ65 years of age. 1,5,6 In an Asian study where over 1000 patients selfrated their olfactory function and then had a smell identification in the clinic, 9 -14% of patients across all age groups reported problems with smell, while the measured dysfunction was 3.7% of 18-to 35-year-old patients, 17.4% of 36-to 55-year-old patients, and 35.6% of patients Ͼ55 years old. 5 This disconnect between self-reported problems and measured dysfunction has been reported elsewhere as well 7 and highlights the need for awareness of smell impairment in the elderly even if not reported by the patient.…”

Section: Epidemiologymentioning

confidence: 98%

Anosmia and hyposmia

Gaines¹

2010

allergy asthma proc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There has been some renewed interest in recent years in disorders of olfaction. Decreased sense of smell can lead to significant impairment of quality of life, including taste disturbance and loss of pleasure from eating with resulting changes in weight and difficulty in avoiding health risks such as spoiled food or leaking natural gas. Recent epidemiological reports have shown that despite fairly low self-reported prevalence of these disorders in large population studies, when validated smell identification or threshold tests are used, they reveal quite a high prevalence of hyposmia and anosmia in certain groups, especially the elderly. Several different pathophysiologic processes, such as head trauma, aging, autoimmunity, and toxic exposures, can contribute to smell impairment, with distinct implications concerning prognosis and possible treatment. As allergists, we are most likely to see this symptom in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, and this now appears to be due more to the mucosal inflammation than to physical airway obstruction.

show abstract

“…This relatively large number of people with olfactory loss is also reflected in the relatively large number of people seeking professional help [4]. However, many of the affected people are not even aware of their disorder since self assessment of olfactory function is very poor [14,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study about the frequency of taste disorders

et al. 2010

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although 5% of the general population exhibit a functional anosmia, little is known about the frequency of gustatory disorders. Whenever taste function has been tested within large sociodemographic studies, so far only short test versions were applied making the interpretation difficult. Using two psychophysical taste tests, the validated "taste strips" and suprathreshold taste solutions of the four basic tastes sweet, sour, salty and bitter we investigated 761 healthy subjects within the age range of 5-89 years. Prior to testing, all subjects rated their taste function. According to testing with the taste strips, 5.3% scored below the result considered as hypogeusia. All four taste sprays were correctly identified by 82.3% of all subjects. Results of the two taste tests correlated positively (r = 0.33, p < 0.001), and there was a significant negative correlation between age and test results. However, we never observed complete ageusia. Misinterpretations of tastes were surprisingly common. In summary, hypogeusia was present in 5% while complete ageusia seems to be very rare, in contrast to misinterpretations of tastes.

show abstract

The Proportion of Self-Rated Olfactory Dysfunction does not Change across the Life Span

Abstract: Self-ratings of olfactory function were unreliable at all ages. The frequencies of self-rated olfactory function in various age groups did not differ significantly, in contrast to the decrease of measured olfactory function with age.

Cited by 57 publications

References 17 publications

Olfactory Impairment and Subjective Olfactory Complaints Independently Predict Conversion to Dementia: A Longitudinal, Population-Based Study

Olfactory Impairment and Subjective Olfactory Complaints Independently Predict Conversion to Dementia: A Longitudinal, Population-Based Study

Anosmia and hyposmia

A study about the frequency of taste disorders

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About