Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Olfactory impairment in older adults is associated with poorer diet quality over 5 years

  • Original Contribution
  • Published:
European Journal of Nutrition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Decreased smell could cause appetite suppression and malnutrition. However, there is a paucity of longitudinal data between olfaction and nutritional status in older adults. We aimed to prospectively examine the relationship between olfactory impairment and overall diet quality (reflecting adherence to dietary guidelines) in a population-based cohort of older adults.

Methods

We used 5-year follow-up data from 557 adults (aged 60+ years at baseline) whose olfaction was measured using the San Diego Odor Identification Test (SDOIT). Dietary data were collected using a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. A total diet score (TDS) was calculated for intake of selected food groups and nutrients for each participant as described in the national dietary guidelines. Final scores ranged from 0 to 20; higher scores indicated closer adherence to dietary guidelines.

Results

After adjusting for all potential confounders, older adults with moderate/severe olfactory impairment (SDOIT score ≤ 3; lower scores indicate impairment) compared with those with no olfactory impairment had significantly lower adjusted mean (±SE) TDS, 9.09 (0.40) versus 9.94 (0.10), p = 0.04. Women with moderate/severe impaired olfaction (i.e., scored poorly on the odor identification test) compared with those with normal olfaction had significantly lower adjusted mean TDS, 8.87 (0.69) versus 10.31 (0.13), p = 0.04. No associations were observed between olfaction and TDS in men.

Conclusions

Olfactory impairment in older women could signal an increased risk of poorer diet quality, defined as adherence to national dietary guidelines. Additional longitudinal studies are needed to confirm or refute the observed link between olfactory loss and overall patterns of food intake in older adults.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mackay-Sim A, Johnston AN, Owen C, Burne TH (2006) Olfactory ability in the healthy population: reassessing presbyosmia. Chem Senses 31:763–771

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Murphy C, Schubert CR, Cruickshanks KJ, Klein BE, Klein R, Nondahl DM (2002) Prevalence of olfactory impairment in older adults. JAMA 288:2307–2312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Karpa MJ, Gopinath B, Rochtchina E, Jie JW, Cumming RG, Sue CM, Mitchell P (2010) Prevalence and neurodegenerative or other associations with olfactory impairment in an older community. J Aging Health 22:154–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Smeets MA, Veldhuizen MG, Galle S, Gouweloos J, de Haan AM, Vernooij J, Visscher F, Kroeze JH (2009) Sense of smell disorder and health-related quality of life. Rehabil Psychol 54:404–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Gopinath B, Sue CM, Kifley A, Mitchell P (2012) The association between olfactory impairment and total mortality in older adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 67:204–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Seo HS, Jeon KJ, Hummel T, Min BC (2009) Influences of olfactory impairment on depression, cognitive performance, and quality of life in Korean elderly. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 266:1739–1745

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Hummel T, Nordin S (2005) Olfactory disorders and their consequences for quality of life. Acta Otolaryngol 125:116–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Boyce JM, Shone GR (2006) Effects of ageing on smell and taste. Postgrad Med J 82:239–241

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Smoliner C, Fischedick A, Sieber CC, Wirth R (2013) Olfactory function and malnutrition in geriatric patients. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 68:1582–1588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Aden E, Carlsson M, Poortvliet E, Stenlund H, Linder J, Edstrom M, Forsgren L, Haglin L (2011) Dietary intake and olfactory function in patients with newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease: a case–control study. Nutr Neurosci 14:25–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ferris AM, Duffy VB (1989) Effect of olfactory deficits on nutritional status. Does age predict persons at risk? Ann N Y Acad Sci 561:113–123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Attebo K, Mitchell P, Smith W (1996) Visual acuity and the causes of visual loss in Australia. The Blue Mountains Eye Study. Ophthalmology 103:357–364

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Morgan CD, Nordin S, Murphy C (1995) Odor identification as an early marker for Alzheimer’s disease: impact of lexical functioning and detection sensitivity. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 17:793–803

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Doty RL (2007) Office procedures for quantitative assessment of olfactory function. Am J Rhinol 21:460–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Ekman G, Berglund B, Berglund U, Lindvall T (1967) Perceived intensity of odor as a function of time of adaptation. Scand J Psychol 8:177–186

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Willett WC, Sampson L, Browne ML, Stampfer MJ, Rosner B, Hennekens CH, Speizer FE (1988) The use of a self-administered questionnaire to assess diet four years in the past. Am J Epidemiol 127:188–199

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Barclay AW, Flood VM, Brand-Miller JC, Mitchell P (2008) Validity of carbohydrate, glycaemic index and glycaemic load data obtained using a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Public Health Nutr 11:573–580

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Smith W, Mitchell P, Reay EM, Webb K, Harvey PW (1998) Validity and reproducibility of a self-administered food frequency questionnaire in older people. Aust N Z J Public Health 22:456–463

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Foster-Powell K, Holt SH, Brand-Miller JC (2002) International table of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2002. Am J Clin Nutr 76:5–56

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2007) Australian diet quality index project. AIHW cat. no. PHE 85. AIHW, Canberra

  21. National Health and Medical Research Council (2003) Dietary guidelines for Australian adults. 10-4-2003. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra

  22. Smith, A., Kellet, E., and Schmerlaib, Y. The Australian guide to healthy eating. 1-40. 1998. Canberra, Commonwealth of Australia

  23. Russell J, Flood V, Rochtchina E, Gopinath B, Allman-Farinelli M, Bauman A, Mitchell P (2013) Adherence to dietary guidelines and 15-year risk of all-cause mortality. Br J Nutr 109:547–555

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Black AE (2000) The sensitivity and specificity of the Goldberg cut-off for EI:BMR for identifying diet reports of poor validity. Eur J Clin Nutr 54:395–404

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjostrom M, Bauman AE, Booth ML, Ainsworth BE, Pratt M, Ekelund U, Yngve A, Sallis JF, Oja P (2003) International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 35:1381–1395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Raff AC, Lieu S, Melamed ML, Quan Z, Ponda M, Meyer TW, Hostetter TH (2008) Relationship of impaired olfactory function in ESRD to malnutrition and retained uremic molecules. Am J Kidney Dis 52:102–110

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Kennedy ET (2006) Evidence for nutritional benefits in prolonging wellness. Am J Clin Nutr 83:410S–414S

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Moss SE, Klein R, Klein BE (1999) Risk factors for hospitalization in people with diabetes. Arch Intern Med 159:2053–2057

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Mattes RD (2002) The chemical senses and nutrition in aging: challenging old assumptions. J Am Diet Assoc 102:192–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Duffy VB, Backstrand JR, Ferris AM (1995) Olfactory dysfunction and related nutritional risk in free-living, elderly women. J Am Diet Assoc 95:879–884

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Gopinath B, Anstey KJ, Kifley A, Mitchell P (2012) Olfactory impairment is associated with functional disability and reduced independence among older adults. Maturitas 72:50–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Schubert CR, Cruickshanks KJ, Fischer ME, Huang GH, Klein BE, Klein R, Pankow JS, Nondahl DM (2012) Olfactory impairment in an adult population: the beaver dam offspring study. Chem Senses 37:325–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Ibiebele TI, Parekh S, Mallitt KA, Hughes MC, O’Rourke PK, Webb PM (2009) Reproducibility of food and nutrient intake estimates using a semi-quantitative FFQ in Australian adults. Public Health Nutr 12:2359–2365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Zamora D, Gordon-Larsen P, Jacobs DR Jr, Popkin BM (2010) Diet quality and weight gain among black and white young adults: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study (1985–2005). Am J Clin Nutr 92:784–793

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Gopinath B, Russell J, Flood VM, Burlutsky G, Mitchell P (2014) Adherence to Dietary Guidelines Positively Affects Quality of Life and Functional Status of Older Adults. J Acad Nutr Diet 114:220–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The Blue Mountains Eye and Hearing Studies were supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (Grant Nos. 974159, 991407, 211069, 262120).

Conflict of interest

All authors have no conflict of interest and declare no financial interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology and Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Bamini Gopinath, George Burlutsky & Paul Mitchell

  2. School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

    Joanna Russell

  3. Departments of Neurology and Neurogenetics, Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Carolyn M. Sue

  4. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney and St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, Australia

    Victoria M. Flood

Authors
  1. Bamini Gopinath
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joanna Russell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carolyn M. Sue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Victoria M. Flood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. George Burlutsky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Paul Mitchell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bamini Gopinath.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 44 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (DOC 35 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gopinath, B., Russell, J., Sue, C.M. et al. Olfactory impairment in older adults is associated with poorer diet quality over 5 years. Eur J Nutr 55, 1081–1087 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-0921-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-0921-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation