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. 2018 Sep 18:16:43.
doi: 10.18332/tid/94202. eCollection 2018.

Tobacco use and chemosensory impairments among current adult tobacco users in the US: Data from NHANES 2013-2014

Liane M Schneller  1 , Scott McIntosh  2 , Dongmei Li  2 , Irfan Rahman  2 , Deborah Ossip  2 , Maciej Goniewicz  1 , Richard J O'Connor  1
Affiliations

Tobacco use and chemosensory impairments among current adult tobacco users in the US: Data from NHANES 2013-2014

Liane M Schneller et al. Tob Induc Dis. .

Abstract

Introduction: Among US adults 40 years and older, about 23% report problems with their ability to smell, and 19% report problems with their ability to taste. Chemosenses are a first line of defence against environmental hazards (e.g. fires and leaking gas). A potential risk factor of chemosensory disorders includes nicotine product use, such as cigarette use. This study aims to assess the relationship of taste and smell alterations with type of recent nicotine product use (e.g. inhaled versus smokeless), recent cigarette use, and mentholation status based on data from NHANES 2013-2014.

Methods: A total of 3186 men and women, 40 years and older, from NHANES 2013-2014 were assessed for smell and taste impairment, according to their recent nicotine product use. Taste impairment was identified as inability to identify quinine as bitter in the whole-mouth taste test. Impairment of smell was defined as failing to identify six or more of eight specific odors. Logistic regression models were adjusted for age, gender, and race/ethnicity.

Results: Approximately 13% of participants failed the smell examination. No significant association between smell examination outcome and recent nicotine product use was found, though recent cigarette use showed a trend toward positive association (OR=1.66, 95% CI: 0.76-3.63) and mentholation status showed a trend toward negative association (OR=0.57, 95% CI: 0.22-1.49) on smell examination results. About 17% of participants failed the taste examination, and trends toward positive association were seen between taste examination outcomes and both recent nicotine product use (OR=1.28, 95% CI: 0.99-1.65) and recent cigarette use (OR=1.30, 95% CI: 0.50-3.40).

Conclusions: Findings indicate that recent use of nicotine products has an inconsistent relationship to dysfunctions in taste and smell. However, limiting the use of inhaled nicotine products, such as from cigarette use, could prove beneficial to a person's taste and smell ability.

Keywords: menthol cigarettes; smell impairment; smoking; taste impairment.

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Conflict of interest statement

M. Goniewicz reports personal fees from Johnson & Johnson, outside the submitted work. R. J. O’Connor reports grants from National Cancer Institute, during the conduct of the study and personal fees and non-financial support from Food and Drug Administration and from World Health Organization outside the submitted work. The rest of the authors have also completed and submitted an ICMJE form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. The authors declare that they have no competing interests, financial or otherwise, related to the current work.

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