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Approximately 23 percent of U.S. adults ages 40 and
older report having had a problem with their ability
to smell, and about 19 percent report having had a
problem with their ability to taste, according to a
recently published study. Conducted by the National
Institute on Deafness and Other Communication
Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes
of Health (NIH), and the National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS), part of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), the study examines the
first collection of nationally representative,
population-based survey data of middle-aged and
older adults on perceived smell and taste problems,
related risk factors, and treatments.
Published online October 20, 2015, in the journal
Chemical Senses, the study confirms earlier findings
that problems with the perception of smell or
taste—also known as chemosensory disorders—increase
with age.
Nearly one in three (31 percent) adults 80 years and
older say they have experienced a problem with their
sense of smell, including a diminished sense of
smell over time.
More than one in four (27 percent) adults 80 years
and older report having had a problem with their
sense of taste, including changes in taste sensation
over time.
Chemosensory disorders can challenge health and
well-being through diminished ability to detect
environmental hazards and maintain healthy eating.
For example, people who have a poor ability to smell
or taste may miss important cues such as gas leaks,
fire, and spoiled food.
The study is an analysis of data from the 2011-2012
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES),
which is conducted by National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS).
More than 3,600 U.S. adults 40 years and older
answered a questionnaire about perceived smell and
taste problems, chemosensory losses since age 25,
related risk factors, and treatment of chemosensory
problems.
The NIDCD collaborated with NCHS on the development
of the survey questions, which were
content-validated by chemosensory experts and tested
for response problems and cultural appropriateness.
"The data from this survey suggest that
self-reported chemosensory problems are an
increasing issue among middle-age and older adults,”
said Howard J. Hoffman, M.A., NIDCD director of
epidemiology and statistics and a co-author of the
study.
Participants who had experienced cold or flu
symptoms lasting more than a month or
allergy-related nasal congestion in the past year
were twice as likely to report having a smell
disorder as those who did not report sinonasal
symptoms.
Other risk factors for smell disorders included
heavy drinking, loss of consciousness from a head
injury, family income, and dry mouth (xerostomia).
Participants with dry mouth were more than twice as
likely to also report taste alteration.
Other factors affecting the ability to taste
included nose or facial injury, lower educational
level, and fair or poor health.
Of adults ages 40 and older who reported having a
problem with their ability to smell, 6 percent
reported they had phantosmia (smelling phantom
odors).
Of adults ages 40 and older who reported having a
problem with their ability to taste, 5 percent
reported they had dysgeusia, or distortion of the
sense of taste.
For more information
Chemical Senses
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Self-Reported Smell
and Taste Alterations: Results from the 2011–2012 US
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
Link...
U.S. National Institutes of Health - NIH
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