ArticleChemical senses2020
Odor Sensitivity Versus Odor Identification in Older US Adults: Associations With Cognition, Age, Gender, and Race.
Article in Chemical senses, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Olfactory dysfunction in aging and neurodegenerative diseases.Ageing research reviews · 2021Pooled it
- The Unmet Need of Olfactory Testing in Inflammatory Disorders of the Upper Airways-An EAACI Position Paper.Allergy · 2026Review
- Serum vitamin D levels and olfactory function in adults: a cross-sectional study with dose-response and ROC analysis.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026Article
- Article
- Anxiety modulates odour-linked brain connectivity and alcohol dependence risk.Brain communications · 2026Article
- Age-related decrease of odorant sensitivity for a selection of nine diverse molecules.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Article
- Free odor identification engages domain-general cognitive abilities in old adults.Chemical senses · 2025Article
- Association of Olfactory and Gustatory Function with Memory among Community-Dwelling Independent Older Adults.Annals of geriatric medicine and research · 2024Article
- Sensory Health Among Older Adults in the United States: A Neighborhood Context Approach.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2024Article
- Normative Data for the 12-Item Sniffin' Sticks Odor Identification Test in Older Adults.Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists · 2024Article
- Olfactory decline develops in parallel with frailty in older US adults with obstructive lung diseases.International forum of allergy & rhinology · 2024Article
- Olfactory Dysfunction and Depression Trajectories in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024Article
- Factors influencing olfactory function in an adult general population sample: the CHRIS study.Chemical senses · 2024Article
- Intranasal insulin for COVID-19-related smell loss.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2024Article
- Evaluating long-term smell or taste dysfunction in mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients: a 3-year follow-up study.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2023Observational
- Association ofNeurology · 2023Article
- The Association of Peripheral and Central Olfaction With Frailty in Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2023Article
- Could olfactory identification be a prognostic factor in detecting cognitive impairment risk in the elderly?GeroScience · 2023Article
- Olfaction in (Social) Context: The Role of Social Complexity in Trajectories of Older Adults' Olfactory Abilities.Journal of aging and health · 2023Article
- Association Between Olfactory Dysfunction and Cognitive Impairment in Dementia-Free Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study in Taiwan.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The ability to identify odors predicts morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. It varies by age, gender, and race and is used in the vast majority of survey and clinical literature. However, odor identification relies heavily on cognition. Other facets of olfaction, such as odor sensitivity, have a smaller cognitive component. Whether odor sensitivity also varies by these factors has not been definitively answered. We analyzed data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a nationally representative study of older US adults (n = 2081). Odor identification was measured using 5 validated odors presented with Sniffin' Stick pens as was odor sensitivity in a 6-dilution n-butanol constant stimuli detection test. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression modeled relationships between olfaction and age, gender, race, cognition, education, socioeconomic status, social network characteristics, and physical and mental health. Odor sensitivity was worse in older adults (P < 0.01), without gender (P = 0.56) or race (P = 0.79) differences. Odor identification was also worse in older adults, particularly men (both P ≤ 0.01), without differences by race. Decreased cognitive function was associated with worse odor identification (P ≤ 0.01) but this relationship was weaker for odor sensitivity (P = 0.02) in analyses that adjusted for other covariates. Odor sensitivity was less strongly correlated with cognitive ability than odor identification, confirming that it may be a more specific measure of peripheral olfactory processing. Investigators interested in associations between olfaction and health should consider both odor sensitivity and identification when attempting to understand underlying neurosensory mechanisms.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.