Kontakt 2012, 14(2):152-158 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2012.017

Effects of age on olfaction and on assessment of present nature of odoursNursing

Pavlína Brothánková^1,2,*, Zuzana Kostková¹, Jan Vodička^1,2, Arnošt Pellant^1,2

¹ Univerzita Pardubice, Fakulta zdravotnických studií

² Pardubická krajská nemocnice, a. s., Klinika otorinolaryngologie a chirurgie hlavy a krku

Deterioration of the olfaction reduces the safety and quality of human life. Olfaction disorders occur more frequently at old age but effects of the age on perceiving the pleasant quality of substances determining the odour has not yet been completely investigated. The target of the study presented here was an evaluation of the olfaction in seniors by using a standard method of subjective olfactometry and comparing the assessment of the pleasant nature of odours with a younger age group.
Total of 79 persons (30 men and 49 women) aged 53 years on average were examined. Forty of them belonged to an age group of 65 years plus. The control group included 39 persons aged 31 years on average.
For the olfaction evaluation, we employed the Odourized Markers Test (OMT). The pleasant nature of substances determining the odour was evaluated with the use of the Test of Odour Pleasantness (TOP) including considerably hedonically biased consideration of pleasant and unpleasant odours. The persons were supposed to express whether the substance exerts pleasant, neutral, unpleasant or considerably unpleasant odour. Normal values were established based on answers of control persons.
In the OMT test, the median numbers of points acquired were of 9 points in seniors and 10 points in controls. A lower gain of points was acquired by seniors in the number of most frequent answers in the TOP test. Median numbers of points acquired in the Test of Odour Pleasantness were of 17 points in seniors and 21 points in controls. Seniors, compared to controls, almost did not use indication of substances as neutral and strongly unpleasant. The correlation between the TOP and age suggest that there is a decrease in the olfaction capability with increasing age.
The Odourized Markers test as well as the Test of Odour Pleasantness demonstrated lower olfaction capability in seniors. Considerably unpleasant odours were indicated by seniors as mild, which can indicate risks associated with the safety of elderly persons, for example due to ingestion of bad food.

Keywords: olfaction; subjective olfactometry; olfaction examination; odour pleasantness; senior

Received: February 28, 2012; Accepted: April 23, 2012; Published: June 22, 2012  Show citation