Could Our Sense Of Smell Be Linked To Our Lifespan?

Could our sense of smell have anything to do with how long we might live?

New findings published in the journal Annals of Neurology reveal that a reduced ability to identify certain odors could be linked to an increased risk of death within four years of this identified issue.

Based on the study data of 1,169 Medicare recipients who were asked to scratch and sniff odorant strips in multiple choice smell tests, 45 percent had the lowest scores on a 40-item smell test when compared to 18 percent of the participants with the highest scores.

The study results suggest that mortality rate is significantly higher among seniors with a reduced sense of smell, and potentially other senses as well.

"The increased risk of death increased progressively with worse performance in the smell identification test and was highest in those with the worst smelling ability, even after adjusting for medical burden and dementia," lead researcher Dr. Davangere Devanand, said in a news release. "This was a study of older adults--the question that remains is whether young to middle-aged adults with impaired smell identification ability are at high risk as they grow older."

Researchers added that anosmia, or lack of ability to smell, could increase the risk of various hazards, including the potential of eating spoiled food for failing to smell fire or gas leak. Furthermore, the loss of smell might mean that the body's cells are not properly regenerating, resulting in a higher risk of dying.

However, more studies will be needed in order to assess whether other factors might improve the connection between smell and lifespan, particularly among older adults.

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