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#P145
POSTER SESSION IV:
CHEMICAL SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR;
PSYCHOPHYSICS; CHEMOSENSATION & DISEASE;
OLFACTION PERIPHERY; TASTE PERIPHERY
A Short Olfactory Identification Test Designed for In-Home
Use is Associated with Cognitive Function in Older Adults
David W. Kern
1,2
, Priya D. Sunkara
3
, L. Philip Schumm
4
,
Kristen E. Wroblewski
4
, Jayant M. Pinto
5
, Martha K. McClintock
1,2
1
Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago
Chicago, IL, USA,
2
Institute of Mind and Biology, University of
Chicago Chicago, IL, USA,
3
Department of Medicine, Section of
Geriatrics, University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA,
4
Department of Health Studies, University of Chicago Chicago, IL,
USA,
5
Section of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery,
Department of Surgery, University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA
Although it is established that errors in odor identification are
associated with cognitive impairment within clinically at-risk and
laboratory populations, it is not known whether there are similar
associations in the aging US population as a whole. To
longitudinally test this hypothesis in a nationally-representative
probability sample of older adults in the US, we developed a short
test of olfactory identification, which could be administered by lay
interviewers within a long battery of survey items and biomeasures.
We tested the feasibility and efficacy of our measures in 120 older
adults (57 male, 63 female) between the ages of 46 and 89 (mean =
71, SD = 8.4). All participants successfully completed both a five-
item odor identification test (Sniffin’ Sticks, choosing among four
word-picture options) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment
(MoCA), designed to assess eight distinct cognitive functions and
mild cognitive impairment (the highest cooperation rates among
all measures administered in the larger survey: range 85-100%).
At least 4 of 5 odors were identified by 73% of participants.
Controlling for age and gender, a 0.5 decrease in the mean number
of correctly identified odors (range 0-5) was associated with a
9-point decrease in the MoCA (p = 0.041). Rose and leather
(68%, 73% correct) were more difficult to correctly identify than
orange, fish, or peppermint (85%, 85%, 86% correct). Our short
field measures could detect associations similar to those found in
studies conducted in more formal settings, and are effective for
home-based population survey research needed to investigate the
relationship between olfactory identification and specific aspects of
cognitive decline in the aging US population. Acknowledgements:
The National Social Life, Health and Aging Project Wave 2
(R37 AG030481). DWK is supported by The Center on Aging
Specialized Training Program in the Demography and Economics
of Aging, which is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA)
(T32000243). JMP was supported by the Institute of Translational
Medicine at The University of Chicago (KL2RR025000).
#P146
POSTER SESSION IV:
CHEMICAL SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR;
PSYCHOPHYSICS; CHEMOSENSATION & DISEASE;
OLFACTION PERIPHERY; TASTE PERIPHERY
Racial Disparities in Olfactory Function in Older Adults in
the United States
Jayant M, Pinto
1
, Phil Schumm
2
, Kristen Wroblewski
2
,
David W. Kern
3
, Martha K. McClintock
3
1
Section of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of
Surgery, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA,
2
Department
of Health Studies, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA,
3
Institute for Mind and Biology, Department of Comparative
Human Development, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA
Age-related olfactory loss (presbyosmia) is an important public
health problem that substantially decreases quality of life. Variation
in presbyosmia within the general population is poorly understood
with little or no published epidemiological data regarding racial
differences. Seeking to determine how race is associated with
olfactory loss in older adults within the United States, we identified
demographic, social and health-related factors associated with
olfactory function collected by the National Social Life, Health and
Aging Project (NSHAP), a cross-sectional US nationally-
representative probability sample of community-dwelling older
adults (57 – 85 years of age). NSHAP assessed the ability to
verbally identify five odors presented with Sniffin’ Sticks odor
pens. We used ordinal logistic regression to estimate racial
differences in odor identification, controlling for factors known to
influence olfaction. African Americans and Hispanics had markedly
worse olfactory function (controlling for age and gender) compared
to whites (P<0.001 and P=0.009, respectively), comparable in
magnitude to differences associated either with gender or aging
8.7 years. Controlling for education, financial status and cognitive
decline eliminated this disparity among Hispanics, but the
difference for African Americans remained; this was true even after
controlling for additional potential mediators such as physical and
mental heath, including tobacco and alcohol use (P=0.001, both
models). In conclusion, after careful control for important
confounders, significant racial disparities exist in presbyosmia, a
novel finding. We speculate that environmental exposures, genetic
susceptibility or cultural practices may drive these significant
health-disparities in olfaction during aging. Acknowledgements:
Supported by AG030481, KL2RR025000
#P147
POSTER SESSION IV:
CHEMICAL SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR;
PSYCHOPHYSICS; CHEMOSENSATION & DISEASE;
OLFACTION PERIPHERY; TASTE PERIPHERY
The Effect of Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease
on Olfaction: AMeta-Analysis
Shady Rahayel
1,2
, Johannes Frasnelli
3
, Sven Joubert
3,4
1
Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal
Montreal, Canada,
2
Centre de Recherche de l’Hôpital du Sacré-
Coeur de Montréal Montreal, Canada,
3
Centre de Recherche en
Neuropsychologie et Cognition (CERNEC), Department of
Psychology, Université de Montréal Montreal, Canada,
4
Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de
Montréal (CRIUGM) Montreal, Canada
Impaired olfactory function is one of the earliest clinical features
in both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD).
We performed a meta-analysis on articles available on the PubMed
database to determine what aspects of olfaction are affected in these
two diseases and whether different patterns of impairment emerged.
76 | AChemS Abstracts 2012
Abstracts are printed as submitted by the author(s)
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