Psy-World

Older adults with impaired olfaction are more likely to experience depressive symptoms.

Olfactory loss is strongly age dependent and is a significant problem because sense of smell is essential to enjoyment of life. Past studies have shown an association between odor dysfunction and Alzheimer's disease as well as schizophrenia. Another study found that olfactory impairment was also significantly associated with both cognitive impairment and Parkinson's disease. A study investigated the link between olfactory impairment with depressive symptoms and quality of life. Analysis evaluated data on 1375 participants aged 60 years or older with 10-year follow-up. Each filled out health history questionnaires and underwent a physical examination, as well as the San Diego Odor Identification Test to measure their olfaction. They also filled out the 36-Item Short-Form Survey (SF-36) to measure depressive symptoms and quality of life, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10). Results showed that 24.2% of the participants had olfactory impairment. Among those with the olfactory dysfunction, 15.4% had depressive symptoms as shown by the SF-36 Mental Health Index, and 20.2% had the symptoms as shown by the CES-D-10. No significant association was found between the dysfunction and depressive symptoms in the overall group. However, the association was significant for patients older than 70 years (adjusted odds ratio, 1.66) when depressive symptoms were assessed by the CES-D-10. Finally, the patients with olfactory impairment had significantly lower adjusted mean SF-36 scores, representing lower quality of life, than did those without impairment in 6 of 8 measurement categories, including physical functioning (p = 0.02), vitality (p < 0.0001), social functioning (p = 0.004), and role limitation because of emotional problems (p < 0.0001). The results of this large sample size study followed up for a long period of time suggest that the identification of suspected olfactory loss and evaluation of its impact on patient's lives should be encouraged. Gopinath B, Anstey KJ, Sue CM, Kifley A, Mitchell P (2011). Olfactory impairment in older adults is associated with depressive symptoms and poorer quality of life scores. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 19:830-834. Updated December 2011