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Is Loss in Odor Sensitivity Inevitable to the Aging Individual? A Study of “Successfully Aged” Elderly

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Chemosensory Perception

Abstract

Previous research suggests that the variability in odor detectability is large in the elderly population. Compared to young adults, most elderly demonstrate poor detectability although some show normal ability. To shed light on why there is this discrepancy among the elderly, absolute detection thresholds for pyridine odor were determined by the method of constant stimuli. Young adults (20–24 years) were compared with elderly (77–87 years) who were “successfully aged” with respect to medical health and cognitive ability. The results showed that these elderly and young adults had very similar mean detection thresholds for pyridine (105 and 100 ppb, respectively) and psychometric detection functions (identical slopes with increasing pyridine concentration). These results imply that deficits in odor detectability may not be inevitable to the aging individual and that factors secondary to aging, such as poor medical health status and cognitive decline, may contribute to deficits in odor detectability in normal aging.

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Acknowledgements

This research was sponsored by grants from The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS). We are indebted to Professor Lars-Olof Wahlund for performing medical examinations and to Ms. Jocelyne Ängeslevä and Mr. Armin Guhl for experimental and technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Steven Nordin

  2. Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Steven Nordin & Birgitta Berglund

  3. Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Ove Almkvist & Birgitta Berglund

  4. Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Ove Almkvist

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  1. Steven Nordin
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  2. Ove Almkvist
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Correspondence to Steven Nordin.

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Nordin, S., Almkvist, O. & Berglund, B. Is Loss in Odor Sensitivity Inevitable to the Aging Individual? A Study of “Successfully Aged” Elderly. Chem. Percept. 5, 188–196 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-011-9102-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-011-9102-8

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