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New Delhi, May 04, 2019 ;
More evidence has linked loss of smell with long-term mortality among older adults, independent of commonly suspected confounders, a study published online in Annals of Internal Medicine shows.
Poor olfaction was associated with 46% higher mortality at year 10 and 30% higher mortality at year 13 compared with good olfaction.
This elevated risk can be only partially explained by dementia or Parkinson disease and weight loss.
Data from the Health ABC (Health, Aging, and Body Composition) cohort was analysed, which enrolled 3075 well-functioning, community-dwelling adults aged 70-79 years, between 1997 and 1998.
The researchers used BSIT scores to classify participants as having good, moderate, or poor sense of smell. Participants repeated the BSIT test at four subsequent appointments. During 13 years of follow-up, 1211 participants died.
Poor sense of smell was associated with a 46% higher mortality at year 10 compared with a good sense of smell, 1.46; 95% confidence interval after adjusting for a variety of demographic and socioeconomic factors.
At year 13, poor sense of smell was associated with a 30% higher mortality vs good sense of smell.
The Author of this article is Dr KK Aggarwal, Padma Shri Awardee
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