Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40420599›Full record

Trial reportPsychogeriatrics : the official journal of the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society2025

Investigating the effects of reminiscence using smells on loneliness and depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults: a randomised controlled trial.

Hideaki Hanaoka, Mariko Yamamoto, Yoshihito Tsubouchi, Kyosuke Yorozuya, Kotaro Tsuda, Koji Kumota, Yuta Kubo, Daiki Nakashima, Toshiaki Muraki, Miwako Tsunematsu and 3 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychogeriatrics : the official journal of the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Hideaki HanaokaGraduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5669-2320
Mariko YamamotoShimane Rehabilitation College, Nitagun, Japan.
Yoshihito TsubouchiDepartment of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Science, Naragakuen University, Nara, Japan.
Kyosuke YorozuyaFaculty of Rehabilitation and Care, Seijoh University, Tokai, Japan.
Kotaro TsudaShimane Rehabilitation College, Nitagun, Japan.
Koji KumotaShimane Rehabilitation College, Nitagun, Japan.
Yuta KuboFaculty of Rehabilitation and Care, Seijoh University, Tokai, Japan.
Daiki NakashimaDepartment of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Science, Naragakuen University, Nara, Japan.
Toshiaki MurakiGeriatric Health-Care Facility Shirokane, Shimotsuma-shi, Japan.
Miwako TsunematsuGraduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Fumiko KanekoGraduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Mineko WadaGraduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Hitoshi OkamuraGraduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5629-9342

Funding

JSPS JP20K11283
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe use of a variety of sensory elements is recommended when implementing reminiscence therapy. However, there is a lack of evidence supporting this recommendation. This study aimed to examine the benefits of using smell as a memory trigger during reminiscence therapy for community-dwelling older adults, focusing on its effects on loneliness and depressive symptoms.

methodsSeventy-nine community-dwelling older adults were randomly allocated to either an intervention or a control group. Participants in the intervention group underwent a total of eight 40-min. reminiscence therapy sessions once a week that used smell as a trigger. The control group underwent similar reminiscence therapy but only used themed conversations. Their responses were assessed pre- and post-intervention using the UCLA Loneliness Scale version 3 (UCLA LS3), which evaluates loneliness, and the Geriatric Depression Scale-15-Japanese, which measures the state of depressive symptoms.

resultsThe pre-intervention comparison of the participants' characteristics and each evaluation item showed significant differences (P = 0.030) between the two groups' olfactory visual analogue scale (VAS) scores. Subsequently, we performed analysis of covariance via repeated measurements, using olfactory VAS as the covariate, and found significant interactions in UCLA LS3 (P = 0.006) alone. To identify items for consideration during interventions, we examined factors related to post-intervention UCLA LS3 scores. Our results showed that the notion of usefulness, by which participants perceived the smell triggers to be useful for inducing reminiscence (P = 0.045), was significantly related to pre-intervention UCLA LS3 scores (P < 0.001) in the intervention group.

conclusionThese findings show that using smell as a trigger during reminiscence therapy can effectively alleviate loneliness and suggest the need to prepare appropriate odorants for facilitating reminiscence.

Indexed as

DepressionLonelinessMental RecallSmellAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansIndependent LivingMaleTreatment Outcomeageddepressive symptomslonelinessmemorymental recallolfactory perception

Identifiers

PMID40420599
PMCPMC12107216

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Registered trials

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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.