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Gustatory and olfactory dysfunction in older adults: a national probability study
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Olfactory and gustatory functions have not been well characterized in older adults in the US. Consequently, their relationships to sociodemographic characteristics, as well as physical and mental health, were studied in a large national probability sample using brief validated tests of chemosensory function. METHODS: A five-odour identification test and taste-impregnated strips of filter paper (sweet, sour, bitter, and salty) assessed the ability to identify chemosensory stimuli. RESULTS: Severe gustatory dysfunction was more prevalent than severe olfactory dysfunction. Age, education and sex were independently associated with performance on both the olfactory and gustatory identification tasks. Higher scores were associated with female sex, higher level of education, and lower age. Odour identification scores exhibited a positive, albeit weak, correlation with BMI, and food-related odours were better identified than non-food odours. In addition, odour identification performance was also negatively associated with depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate a high prevalence of severe gustatory and, to a somewhat lesser extent, olfactory dysfunction in a population-based sample and demonstrate that even brief tests are capable of detecting correlations between both chemical senses and relevant health measures outside a clinical setting.
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“The NSHAP found the prevalence of severe gustatory impairment (defined as correct identification of ≤1 of the four flavors: sour, bitter, sweet, salty, presented in that order) to be 14.8% (women 10.2%, men 19.2%) (Boesveldt et al., 2011).”
From Design Principles to Accommodate Older Adults (2012) · cites this paper as Boesveldt et al., 2011
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“The ability to perceive sweetness was preserved to the greatest degree, being correctly identified by 86.7% of subjects, whereas sour taste was correctly identified by only 39.4% of subjects.”
From Design Principles to Accommodate Older Adults (2012) · cites this paper as Boesveldt et al., 2011
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“Odor identification declined with age in both sexes; peppermint odor was correctly identified most often (91.6%) and leather least often (70.5%).”
From Design Principles to Accommodate Older Adults (2012) · cites this paper as Boesveldt et al., 2011
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“The National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP), a US population-based study of community-dwelling older adults aged 57 to 85, found the prevalence of severe olfactory dysfunction (defined as correctly identifying ≤ 1 of 5 odorants: rose, leather, orange, fish, peppermint) to be 2.7% (women, 2.2%, men, 3.2%) (Boesveldt, Lindau, McClintock, Hummel, & Lundstrom, 2011).”
From Design Principles to Accommodate Older Adults (2012) · cites this paper as Boesveldt, Lindau, McClintock, Hummel, & Lundstrom, 2011
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“The sense of taste is also depressed in older adults.”
From Design Principles to Accommodate Older Adults (2012) · cites this paper as Boesveldt et al., 2011
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Citations
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“Chemosensory function has not only been linked to physical health, but also to psychological well-being; olfactory dysfunction has also been associated with both mood and affective disorders in younger and older adults(12, 13).”
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A comparative study of odor identification and odor discrimination deficits in Parkinson's disease
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Self-citationAssessment of Gustatory Function by Means of Tasting Tablets
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“Furthermore, others have reported that sensitivity for salty and bitter is also affected by aging(33).”
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ResultPrevalence and Causes of Severe Taste Loss in a Chemosensory Clinic Population
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“Moreover, although both the five-item olfactory identification test(18) and the gustatory identification test(17) have both been demonstrated to have a good validity, the allowed variation is not large which might hamper their power.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialAging and olfactory and taste function.
Seiberling, K. A., & Conley, D. (2004) · Otolaryngologic clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.otc.2004.06.006 · Cited by 88
Odor identification in normal aging and early Alzheimer's disease: effects of retrieval support.
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Olfactory deficits in anorexia nervosa
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The Chemical Senses and Nutrition in Older Adults
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“Since gustatory function is known to decrease with age(4,30,31), the discrepancy between studies could be explained by the different age groups explored.”
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Fikentscher, R., Roseburg, B., Spinar, H., & Bruchmüller, W. (1977) · Clinical otolaryngology and allied sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2273.1977.tb01356.x · Cited by 52 · cited 1×
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ResultDepressive symptoms and olfactory function in older adults
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“Chemosensory function has not only been linked to physical health, but also to psychological well-being; olfactory dysfunction has also been associated with both mood and affective disorders in younger and older adults(12, 13).”
Background
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Olfactory Disorders and Quality of Life--An Updated Review
Croy, I., Nordin, S., & Hummel, T. R. (2014) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/bjt072 · Cited by 974
“This work was supported by the Maria Reiche Scholarship from the technical University of Dresden to I.C.”
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Self-citationThe Differential Role of Smell and Taste For Eating Behavior
Boesveldt, S., & de Graaf, K. C. (2017) · Perception · doi:10.1177/0301006616685576 · Cited by 331
“On the other hand, Boesveldt et al. (2011) found that a higher body mass index was associated with higher scores on an odor identification task.”
BackgroundSelf-citationDesign Principles to Accommodate Older Adults
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“(Boesveldt et al., 2011).”
Central Processing of the Chemical Senses: An Overview
Lundström, J. N., Boesveldt, S., & Albrecht, J. (2010) · ACS Chemical Neuroscience · doi:10.1021/cn1000843 · Cited by 263
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Boesveldt, S., Lindau, S. T., McClintock, M. K., Hummel, T., & Lundstrom, J. N.
- Affiliations
- Monell Chemical Senses Center (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Venue
- Rhinology journal
- Publisher
- Stichting Nase
- Published
- 2011-08-01
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 324-330
- ISSN
- 0300-0729 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3775551
- OpenAlex
- W1604682220
- Cited by
- 142
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 2.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Rhinology Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG021487)
- Office of AIDS Research
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies
- Keywords
- gustatory dysfunction, olfactory dysfunction, older adults, chemosensory function, odor identification, taste identification, prevalence, sociodemographic factors, depressive symptoms, body mass index, sex differences
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Olfaction Disorders, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression, Female, Health Status, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Regression Analysis, Taste Disorders, Comorbidity, Body Mass Index, Prevalence
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