Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jan;36(1):63-7.
doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjq098. Epub 2010 Oct 5.

Odor identification and mortality in old age

Robert S Wilson  1 , Lei Yu, David A Bennett
Affiliations

Odor identification and mortality in old age

Robert S Wilson et al. Chem Senses. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

The association of olfactory dysfunction with mortality was examined in 1162 older persons without dementia or Parkinson's disease. They completed a standard 12-item test of odor identification and then were followed for a mean of 4.2 years (standard deviation [SD] = 2.6, range: 0-9) during which 321 individuals died (27.6%). The relation of olfactory score to risk of death was assessed in a series of proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, education, and other covariates. Olfactory scores ranged from 0 to 12 correct (mean = 9.0, SD = 2.2). In an initial analysis, risk of death decreased by about 6% for each additional odor correctly identified (hazard ratio = 0.94; 95% confidence interval: 0.90, 0.98). Thus, mortality risk was about 36% higher with a low score (6, 10th percentile) compared with a high score (11, 90th percentile). The association persisted in subsequent analyses that controlled for naming ability, disability, cerebrovascular disease, characteristic patterns of leisure activity, depressive symptoms, and apolipoprotein E genotype. The results indicate that difficulty identifying familiar odors in old age is associated with increased risk of death.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of odor identification scores in participants who survived (green) and those who died (blue).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cumulative risk of death associated with a low (dotted line, 10th percentile) compared with high (solid line, 90th percentile) odor identification score, adjusted for age, sex, and education.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bennett DA, Schneider JA, Buchman AS, Mendes de Leon CF, Bienias JL, Wilson RS. The Rush Memory and Aging Project: study design and baseline characteristics of the study cohort. Neuroepidemiology. 2005;25:163–175. - PubMed
    1. Braak H, del Tredici K, Rub U, de Vos RAI, Jansen Steur ENH, Braak E. Staging of brain pathology related to sporadic Parkinson's disease. Neurobiol Aging. 2003;24:197–211. - PubMed
    1. Calhoun-Haney R, Murphy C. Apolipoprotein ϵ4 is associated with more rapid decline in odor identification than in odor threshold or Dementia Rating Scale scores. Brain Cogn. 2005;58:178–182. - PubMed
    1. Cox DR. Regression models and life tables (with discussion) J R Stat Soc Series B. 1972;74:187–220.
    1. Devanand DP, Michaels-Marston KS, Liu X, Pelton GH, Padilla M, Marder K, Bell K, Stern Y, Mayeux R. Olfactory deficits in patients with mild cognitive impairment predict Alzheimer's disease at follow-up. Am J Psychiatry. 2000;157:1399–1405. - PubMed

Publication types