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Odor identification ability and self-reported upper respiratory symptoms in workers at the post-9/11 World Trade Center site

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Abstract

Following the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse on September 11, 2001, more than 40,000 people were exposed to a complex mixture of inhalable nanoparticles and toxic chemicals. While many developed chronic respiratory symptoms, to what degree olfaction was compromised is unclear. A previous WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program study found that olfactory and nasal trigeminal thresholds were altered by the toxic exposure, but not scores on a 20-odor smell identification test.

Objectives

To employ a well-validated 40-item smell identification test to definitively establish whether the ability to identify odors is compromised in a cohort of WTC-exposed individuals and, if so, whether the degree of compromise is associated with self-reported severity of rhinitic symptoms.

Methods

The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) was administered to 99 WTC-exposed persons and 99 matched normal controls. The Sino-Nasal Outcomes Test (SNOT-20) was administered to the 99 WTC-exposed persons and compared to the UPSIT scores.

Results

The mean (SD) UPSIT scores were lower in the WTC-exposed group than in age-, sex-, and smoking history-matched controls [respective scores: 30.05 (5.08) vs 35.94 (3.76); p = 0.003], an effect present in a subgroup of 19 subjects additionally matched on occupation (p < 0.001). Fifteen percent of the exposed subjects had severe microsmia, but only 3% anosmia. SNOT-20 scores were unrelated to UPSIT scores (r = 0.20; p = 0.11).

Conclusion

Exposure to WTC air pollution was associated with a decrement in the ability to identify odors, implying that such exposure had a greater influence on smell function than previously realized.

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Acknowledgments

Supported in part by the Alpha Omega Alpha Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship, the World Trade Center Monitoring and Treatment Program at Mount Sinai Hospital, and grant NIEHS P30 ES013508 to the University of Pennsylvania. We thank Dr. Jay F. Piccirillo for allowing us to use the SNOT-20 in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1189, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Kenneth W. Altman & Shaun C. Desai

  2. Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Jacqueline Moline, Rafael E. de la Hoz & Robin Herbert

  3. Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Rafael E. de la Hoz

  4. Touro University College of Medicine, Hackensack, NJ, 07601, USA

    Patrick J. Gannon

  5. Smell and Taste Center and Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Richard L. Doty

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  1. Kenneth W. Altman
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  2. Shaun C. Desai
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  3. Jacqueline Moline
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  4. Rafael E. de la Hoz
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  7. Richard L. Doty
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Correspondence to Kenneth W. Altman.

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Altman, K.W., Desai, S.C., Moline, J. et al. Odor identification ability and self-reported upper respiratory symptoms in workers at the post-9/11 World Trade Center site. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 84, 131–137 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-010-0556-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-010-0556-9

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