Loss of smell may be predictor of death in older adults - study

[IDemo]

(Reuters) - Being unable to smell bacon frying may be far more dire than simply missing out on one of life's pleasures. In older adults, it could be a predictor of increased risk of death within five years.

In a study of more than 3,000 people aged 57 to 85, 39 percent of subjects who failed a simple smelling test died within five years, according to results published on Wednesday in the science journal PLOS ONE.

That compared with a 19 percent death rate within five years for those with moderate smell loss and 10 percent for those deemed to have a healthy sense of smell.

"Compared to a person with a normal sense of smell, a person with an absent sense of smell has three times greater risk of dying within a five-year span," Dr. Jayant Pinto, the study's lead author, said in a telephone interview.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/10/01/smell-death-idINKCN0HQ4UT20141001

[NYC_SKP]

1. Well I hope this is a a crackpot study because I lost my sense of smell after an aneurism.

I wonder if they selected their participants in a thoughtful way.

Most research is conducted with either a poor methodology or a small n or an agenda, or some combination of these.

Hmmm. I'm not ready to go yet.

[arcane1]

3. It appears 61% who failed a simple smelling test did NOT die in 5 years

That's good news

[NYC_SKP]

6. Yeah, and I'm actually in the Hyposmic (partial loss) group.

Here's a link: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0107541

The Hyposmic group is about 9% and the Normosmic group about 6% compared to Anosmic group at 39%.

I can still smell things but at about 1/3 normal strength.

If I had some Sniffin' Sticks, I could determine my group. That's what they used in the study.

We treated the degree of olfactory dysfunction (anosmia, hyposmia, or normosmia) or the number of odors incorrectly identified (0–5) as the independent variable and death as the dependent variable in separate analyses.

The modified smell tests used “Sniffin’Sticks,” odor-dispensing devices that resemble a felt-tip pen but are loaded with aromas rather than ink. Subjects were asked to identify each smell, one at a time, from a set of four choices. The five odors, in order of increasing difficulty, were peppermint, fish, orange, rose and leather.

Measuring smell with this test, they learned that:

Almost 78 percent of those tested were classified as “normosmic,” having normal smelling; 45.5 percent correctly identified five out of five odors and 29 percent identified four out of five.
Almost 20 percent were considered “hyposmic.” They got two or three out of five correct.
The remaining 3.5 percent were labelled “anosmic.” They could identify just one of the five scents (2.4%), or none (1.1%).

http://sciencelife.uchospitals.edu/2014/10/01/decreased-ability-to-identify-odors-can-predict-death/

[kestrel91316]

9. My sense of smell has noticeably declined in the past 10 years.

I thought that was part of normal aging.

[NYC_SKP]

10. I read the abstract and reviewed the methodology and conclusions.

They broke people up into three groups based on their ability to smell a set of five scent pens.

Those who did poorly, no sense of smell, were 4X more likely to pass in 5 years than the middle and normal olfactory sense group, and the relationship they seem to be making is that accelerated loss of the sense indicated an acceleration of the loss of other bodily functions and ability to recover, or something like that.

One of my replies above has a link to the study.

So, without a kit of the scent pens it's hard to say where we fit.

I'm going to agree with you, that loss of smell is natural over time. In my case it had been diminishing but was more profound post sub arachnoid hematoma and surgery.

[BlueJazz]

2. I love my dog but he'd be totally useless in the above study. When he cuts one, people...

...down the street start puking.

Kidding aside...the sense of smell must have something to do with certain parts of the human body breaking down..??

[CentralMass]

4. No problem here, I'm told I have no problem smelling.

On a serious note, I'm in my 50's but do have less than a stellar sense of smell.

[lordsummerisle]

5. So what should we do if we lose out sense of smell?

Enter ourselves into hospice?

[kickysnana]

7. My Dad suffered for 20 years and Auntie is going on 14 so ?

[BillZBubb]

8. This study doesn't pass the smell test!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[zazen]

11. my sense of smell was always stronger w/pregnancy and now with hormonal surges

I wonder if there's any relationship between some sort of endocrinological "healthier" state and longevity.

I thought my increased intensity of smell while pregnant had to do with ferreting out poisonous substances while carrying a fetus, but it's interesting to consider whether there's any correlation.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

12. I'm wondering at what point old people lose all their sub-cu fat.

I've known people who were obese all their adult lives, but sometime before they died, all their sub-cutaneous fat was gone and they were skin and bones. That's why they kept the thermostat on 80 degrees and were still cold. I wonder what time period that indicates?

[Warpy]

13. That's because they stop eating

since the only things they can taste are sweet, salty, bitter and sour.

[littlemissmartypants]

14. Dr. Pinto...sounds interesting...

Dr. Pinto, Ober Awarded Major NIH Grant to Study CRS

Carole Ober, PhD, Blum-Riese Professor and Chair of Human Genetics, and Jayant Pinto, MD, associate professor of surgery, have been awarded a major National Institutes of Health grant to study genetic susceptibility to Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS), a major inflammatory disease affecting millions of Americans. The $1.5M study builds on earlier work by the team which identified evidence for genes involved in sinus disease. This is the first and only NIH funded study of the genetics of CRS. Robert Naclerio will serve as chair of the advisory board of the project and Fuad Baroody is also involved, along with study coordinator, Marianella Paz-Landsberg.

Funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease as part of a larger program project grant led colleagues at Northwestern, the research will involve state of the art evaluation of genomic responses of sinonasal epithelium from patients to key pathogens involved in CRS. The partnership also involves scientists from Johns Hopkins and data and samples from the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania.

https://surgery.uchicago.edu/specialties/otolaryngology/news/

[littlemissmartypants]

15. I really want to read the actual work. nt

[littlemissmartypants]

16. And the gender...and

There is a racial component...
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/06/20/race-may-be-factor-in-loss-of-sense-of-smell-that-comes-with-age

[littlemissmartypants]

17. Needs replication with testing for greater

Number of aromas, 25 or thirty and control for neurological component to rule out agnosia, imho.

Great post! Thanks.
~ Lmsp 🙌