title: Use of Indian smell identification test for evaluating olfaction in idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients in India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease (PD) has been recognized for a long time and a number of studies have been performed in various parts of the world, using culturally appropriate smell identification tests.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In this study, for the first time, olfactory function has been assessed in the Indian Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease (IPD) patients using an indigenously developed smell test.
  
  
  METHODS
  Olfaction was assessed in 53 IPD patients and 50 healthy controls using SniffIn-sticks ® test and Indian Smell Identification test (INSIT). In both these tests, the subjects were asked to identify the smell from a set of choices and were scored out of 10 and 12 for INSIT and SniffIn-sticks ® test, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both SniffIn-sticks ® test and INSIT showed significant impairment in olfaction in IPD patients (P < 0.001). There was no significant correlation of the scores of both tests with Hoehn and Yahr (H and Y) stage, duration of illness and Levodopa Equivalent Daily Dose (LEDD). The tests had a high correlation, r = 0.75 (P < 0.001) and the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves did not differ significantly. Using a cut off value of 4 (values ≤ 4 indicating disease), INSIT showed a sensitivity of 79.2% and specificity of 78%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  INSIT, being cheap, convenient and more acceptable in the Indian population, can be considered as a better alternative for SniffIn-sticks ® test in the evaluation of olfaction in Indian PD subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Jaiben
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Toney
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jose
authors.forename: Madhuri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Behari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009812:Odorants; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*