UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Chicago, IL, USA

In a study published this week from the University of Chicago, researchers found that olfactory malfunction — the loss of the sense of smell — is a strong predictor of death. In a study conducted from 2005-06, older adults were asked to identify five different scents: peppermint, fish, orange, rose and leather. After adjusting the study to account for variances in participants’ age, physical and mental health, education level, and alcohol or substance abuse, researchers found that 40% of the 3,005 participants tested who failed the smell test had died, compared to 10% of those who had a healthy sense of smell in a follow-up in 2010-11. The study concluded that olfactory malfunction was better at predicting mortality than diagnosis of heart failure, cancer or lung disease.
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