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Odor Threshold Differs for Some But Not All Odorants Between Older and Younger Adults

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  • Agnieszka Sabiniewicz
  • Marnie Brandenburg
  • Thomas Hummel
  • Vanessa Taler

Abstract

ObjectivesOlfactory function deteriorates with age, and definitive mechanisms by which this decline occurs are likely multifactorial. The present study, conducted on a large cohort of healthy participants, aimed to investigate whether odor thresholds would differ for variable odors with different physicochemical (e.g., heavy- vs lightweight molecules) and perceptual characteristics.MethodsIn 81 participants (51%, ≥50 years old), we assessed odor threshold in 2 sessions.ResultsLinear mixed-model analyses revealed that odor thresholds in younger and older adults changed with different odor conditions, presumably due to the common exposition to some of the odors, their trigeminality, and lipophilicity. This effect was observed for piperine, eucalyptol, 2-nonanone, gamma-valerolactone, and pinene-alpha, but not for the other 15 odorants studied. Furthermore, suprathreshold perception, that is, intensity and, to some extent, irritation, contributed independently to sensorial odor threshold, the latter ones particularly in older adults. We also found that the molecular weight of the odorants did not add to their threshold by, respectively, younger and older adults.DiscussionTo conclude, the present findings are in line with previous studies showing that the age-related change of chemosensory abilities is a multifaceted phenomenon, which does not affect all odorants.

Suggested Citation

  • Agnieszka Sabiniewicz & Marnie Brandenburg & Thomas Hummel & Vanessa Taler, 2023. "Odor Threshold Differs for Some But Not All Odorants Between Older and Younger Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 78(6), pages 1025-1035.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:78:y:2023:i:6:p:1025-1035.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gbad019
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    Keywords

    Aging; Olfaction; Suprathreshold;
    All these keywords.

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