Aging and the Sense of Smell

February 2007 - New research by Dr Amy Johnston, from Griffith University's School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Eskitis Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, published in the journal Chemical Senses, has found that normal aging processes have little detrimental effect on the sense of smell.

The study tested the ability of about 1000 Australian males and females of all ages to detect or identify a range of odours at different concentrations. The results showed that olfactory function deteriorates relatively slowly with age in the absence of other factors such as smoking, medication or history of nasal problems. Healthy women were found to have a more sensitive sense of smell than healthy men.

However, the sense of smell was found to be adversely affected by some medications and deterioration to be associated with a number of neurodegenerative illnesses. The study supported findings that common anti-cholesterol and antihypertensive medications, and chronic conditions such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease were among those associated with impairment of the sense of smell.

The study underlined important consequences of losing the sense of smell with particular relevance for older people, for example the risk of poor appetite and nutrition and being unable to assess the fitness of food for consumption.

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