Development of the ETOC: a European test of olfactory capabilities.
A number of smell tests designed to evaluate human olfactory capabilities have been published, but none have been validated cross-culturally. The aim of this study was therefore to develop a reliable and quick olfactory test that could be used to evaluate efficiently the olfactory abilities of a European population. This test, named ETOC and based on a combination of a supra-threshold detection task and an identification task, was designed to be a cross-cultural tool that would measure the decline in olfactory performance with ageing. Two versions of the ETOC, one easy and one less easy, were used to test the olfactory performance of European citizens in three countries (France, Sweden and the Netherlands). The results indicated that neither version of the ETOC is culture-dependent, and that both give scores that well reflect the decrease in olfactory abilities with increasing age. A retest session showed that the less easy (and final) version of the ETOC is also highly reliable.
Université Claude Bernard LYON 1, CNRS UMR 5020, 50 avenue Tony Garnier, 69366 Lyon, France. thierry.thomas-danguin@olfac.univ-lyon1.fr
Thierry
T
Thomas-Danguin
Catherine
C
Rouby
Gilles
G
Sicard
Michel
M
Vigouroux
Vincent
V
Farget
Anna
A
Johanson
Annika
A
Bengtzon
Gunnar
G
Hall
Wieke
W
Ormel
Cees
C
De Graaf
Florence
F
Rousseau
Jean-Pierre
JP
Dumont
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*