Smell, taste and trigeminal disorders in a 65‐year‐old population

Abstract

Background Smell, taste and trigeminal disorders likely have a substantial impact on human daily life. However, data regarding the prevalence of these disorders in Norway are scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of smell, taste, trigeminal disorders and associated factors in a 65-year-old population in Oslo, Norway. Methods A random sample of 223 individuals (123 men, 100 women) participated in the study. Medical history was obtained, and unstimulated whole saliva (UWS) and stimulated whole saliva (SWS) were collected to determine salivary secretion rates. Sniffin`n Sticks and Taste Strips (Burghart Messtechnik GmbH, Wedel, Germany) were used for quantitative testing of olfactory and gustatory function. In addition, the participants’ self-reported perceptions of smell and taste, and burning mouth sensation were investigated. Results The results showed that 34 % of the participants had reduced smell (28 % hyposmia and 6 % anosmia) and 28 % had reduced taste perception (21 % hypogeusia and 7 % ageusia). 13 % of the partcipants had a combination of smell and taste disorders. Dysgeusia was reported by 5 % and burning mouth sensation (syndrome) by 3 % of the participants. Hyposmia, hypogeusia and ageusia were significantly more prevalent among men. Significant associations were found between taste disorders and previous history of cerebral hemorrhage and heart attack, and between burning mouth sensation and gastrointestinal disorders. Disturbances in olfactory, gustatory and trigeminal function were significantly related to medication use. Ageusia and burning mouth sensation were significantly more prevalent among smokers. Except from higher prevalence of ageusia among participants with hyposalivation with respect to SWS, no significant associations were found between salivary secretion rate and chemosensory or trigeminal disorders in the present study. Conclusions The present study revealed that one-third of 65-year-old individuals had impaired smell and more than one-fourth had impaired taste function. The prevalence of dysgeusia and burning mouth sensation was very low. Reduced smell and taste perception were more common among men than women. Furthermore, some diseases and medications were associated with chemosensory and trigeminal disorders. Ageusia was associated with SWS hyposalivation.

Performance of a cost-effective olfactory test to evaluate hyposmia in Parkinson's disease patients

“…Indeed, olfactory dysfunction is a relatively common feature in older individuals, probably related to multiple factors, such as nasal engorgement, cumulative damage to the olfactory epithelium, and sensory loss of receptor cells to odorants, among others. [21][22][23][24] Although we could only observe a slight tendency of lower scores for older individuals, it is important to note that our sample was significantly older compared with that of the reference study. 7 This factor explains the low proportion of normosmia found in the present study, even in the healthy CG, highlighting the need for larger studies to establish cutoff scores on the mCCCRC to classify normosmia or hyposmia based on age in Brazil.…”

Olfactory Dysfunction, Headache, and Mental Clouding in Adults with Long-COVID-19: What Is the Link between Cognition and Olfaction? A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The demographic characteristics of our study confirm previous observations of a higher rate of olfactory disorders and Long-COVID-19 in women [ 15 ]. Smell alterations are attributed to neuroinflammation of the olfactory bulb [ 16 ] and women, perhaps more predisposed to (neuro)inflammation, already have a higher baseline rate of olfactory bulbs atrophy with aging compared with men in the same age range [ 17 ]. We speculate that SARS-CoV-2 infection may ulterior increase this risk [ 18 ] because of neuroinflammation; similarly the infection might act on other neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases [ 19 ], including Alzheimer Disease (AD) and Parkinson Disease [ 19 ].…”

Self-Reported Sensory Decline in Older Adults Is Longitudinally Associated With Both Modality-General and Modality-Specific Factors

“…Smoking, a modifiable risk, was associated with an increased probability of self-reported fair/poor vision, taste, and smell (but not hearing, consistent with Kiely et al, 2012 ). Altered function within these senses among older adult smokers versus nonsmokers has been previously documented ( Doty, 2018 ; Klein et al, 2008 ; Murphy et al, 2002 ; Nolan et al, 2012 ; Sødal et al, 2021 ). For example, current smoker status has been associated with lower macular optical pigment density, which is detrimental to healthy visual function, in the TILDA cohort ( Nolan et al, 2012 ; see also Klein et al, 2008 ), as well as poorer olfactory identification abilities ( Murphy et al, 2002 ) and more frequent experiences of unpleasant oral sensations ( Sødal et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Altered function within these senses among older adult smokers versus nonsmokers has been previously documented ( Doty, 2018 ; Klein et al, 2008 ; Murphy et al, 2002 ; Nolan et al, 2012 ; Sødal et al, 2021 ). For example, current smoker status has been associated with lower macular optical pigment density, which is detrimental to healthy visual function, in the TILDA cohort ( Nolan et al, 2012 ; see also Klein et al, 2008 ), as well as poorer olfactory identification abilities ( Murphy et al, 2002 ) and more frequent experiences of unpleasant oral sensations ( Sødal et al, 2021 ). Importantly, only current smokers showed increased odds of reporting fair/poor ability across these modalities (see also Murphy et al, 2002 and Nolan et al, 2012 for compatible findings).…”