Abstract
Objective
This study aimed to investigate the causes of olfactory dysfunction (OD) and to discuss
the benefits of understanding the characteristics of OD in elderly patients.
Methods
A total of 4300 patients with OD who were treated at our hospital between January
1996 and December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 1833 men and 2467
women, with ages ranging from 4 to 95 years. The patients were divided into two groups:
younger (less than 65 years old, n = 2947) and elderly (65 years old or more, n = 1353) groups. Causative diseases were chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), post-viral
(PV), post-traumatic (PT), central nervous system dysfunction (CNS), peripheral nervous
system dysfunction (PNS), congenital, psychogenic, and unknown. Visual analogue scale
(VAS) and olfactory detection and recognition thresholds using the T&T olfaction test
were used to evaluate olfaction. The mean detection and recognition thresholds, as
well as the deviation difference (the difference between the mean detection and recognition
thresholds) were compared by causative disease.
Results
The causative diseases in elderly group were CRS (32%), PV (28%), PT (3%), CNS (2%),
and PNS (4%). OD of unknown cause was significantly more in elderly (30%) than in
younger patients (12%). Olfactory detection and recognition thresholds in elderly
group were significantly worse than in younger group (p < 0.05). The olfactory detection and recognition thresholds were not any significant
differences between patients with OD of unknown cause and those with CNS.
Conclusion
OD of unknown cause was predominantly observed in elderly group. The olfactory acuity
of OD of unknown cause was similar to CNS OD. These findings suggest the importance
of continuous follow-up due to the potential of neurodegenerative diseases in elderly
OD patients.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 18, 2022
Accepted:
June 6,
2022
Received:
November 17,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Japanese Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Inc. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.