Olfactory dysfunction and related nutritional risk in free-living, elderly women.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the nutritional risk associated with measured olfactory dysfunction in free-living, elderly women through analytic observational methods. Olfactory perception was measured orthonasally (odor: butanol threshold and odor identification) and retronasally (flavor: orange flavor threshold in sweetened gelatin).


METHODS
Elderly women were recruited from New Haven, Conn, through posters and direct contact. Screening of 120 elderly women identified 80 with high personal functioning to participate (mean age = 76 +/- 6 years, range = 65 to 93 years). All data were collected in subjects' homes.


METHODS
Nutritional risk was assessed in several ways: food behavior questionnaire; food preference questionnaire; interviews based on the National Cancer Institute food frequency questionnaire; five nonconsecutive, 24-hour food records; and weight, height, waist, and hip measurements.


METHODS
Correlation and regression analyses determined the separate association between olfactory perception and nutrition variables.


RESULTS
Nearly half of the women (37 of 80) had olfactory dysfunction. The following nutritional risk pattern was associated with lower olfactory perception: lower interest in food-related activities (eg, enjoying cooking, eating a wide variety of foods); lower preference for foods with predominant sour/bitter taste (eg, citrus fruits) or pungency (eg, horseradish); higher intake of sweets; less intake of low-fat milk products; and nutrient intake profile indicative of higher risk for cardiac disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Olfactory dysfunction may make it more difficult for elderly women to maintain a diet to control risk for chronic disease. Practitioners should target nutrition intervention to elderly women with measured or self rated difficulty in preventing odors or olfactory flavor. Capitalizing on primary-taste quality and texture may help to compensate for the loss of olfactory flavor perception.
Duffy
V B
VB
School of Allied Health Professions, University of Connecticut, Storrs, 06269-2101, USA.
Backstrand
J R
JR
Ferris
A M
AM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009812:Odorants; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D012903:Smell