Essential Oil Olfactory Test: Comparison of Affordable Rapid Olfaction Measurement Array (AROMA) to Sniffin' Sticks 12

Age-related differences in olfactory training outcomes: A prospective cohort study

INTRODUCTION

While olfactory function decreases with age, it is unknown how age affects olfactory training (OT) efficacy. This study compared OT in two cohorts of subjects: aged ≤50 (younger cohort) and aged 51+ (older cohort) with olfactory dysfunction (OD) primarily from COVID-19 infection.

METHODS

Subjects with OD primarily secondary to COVID-19 infection were prospectively recruited and enrolled into an OT registry. Baseline data were collected and they were provided with a training kit and asked to complete OT at home twice daily for 6 months. Participants were asked to follow-up at 3 and 6 months during training for olfactory testing and quality-of-life surveys (Sino-Nasal Outcomes Test-22 [SNOT-22] and Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders Negative Statements [QoD-NS]).

RESULTS

Fifty-six participants completed OT (younger cohort: n = 26, older cohort: n = 30). There were no significant differences between cohorts' Affordable Rapid Olfactory Measurement Array (AROMA), QoD-NS, or SNOT-22 scores at any time point. Both cohorts showed significant AROMA score improvement of more than 16 points from baseline to 3 months (younger cohort: p = 0.001; older cohort: p = 0.008). The younger cohort had significant improvements in QoD-NS (p = 0.008) and SNOT-22 (p = 0.042) between baseline and 3 months while the older cohort improved from 3 to 6 months (QoD-NS: p = 0.027, SNOT-22: p = 0.049).

CONCLUSION

Both cohorts demonstrated similar significant improvement in olfactory function after 3 months of OT. The timeline of subjective improvement was different between cohorts, with younger patients experiencing earlier improvement.

Evaluating olfactory function and quality of life in patients with traumatic brain injury

KEY POINTS

Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) had worse olfactory quality of life (QoL) and Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 scores compared to a normal cohort. A worse olfactory QoL correlated with concussion symptom burden. Olfactory dysfunction among TBI patients should be addressed to improve overall outcomes.

Disparities in Olfactory Dysfunction in African Americans

OBJECTIVES

To examine olfactory performance in African Americans (AA) and Whites by comparing individual scent scores on objective olfactory tests to assess potential racial-ethnic differences of scent detection.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study of healthy participants, age 18+ years, and without sinonasal inflammatory disease from June 2021 to April 2022. Included participants self-identified as AA or White. Patients were recruited from outpatient clinics at University of Kansas Medical Center, and the local community. Two smelling tests were employed: Affordable Rapid Olfactory Measurement Array (AROMA) and Sniffin' Sticks (SST-12). Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) was used for self-reported olfactory function . Pearson correlation and chi-square tests were used to detect statistical significance.

RESULTS

Our sample included 102 (46 AA and 56 Whites) participants. AROMA and SST-12 scores were significantly correlated in AA (P < .01, Pearson's Rho = .642) and Whites (P < .05, Pearson's Rho = .297). Mean scores on AROMA were significantly lower for AAs: 64.2 and Whites: 75.5 (P < .01). On AROMA, AA less accurately identified the scents of Licorice, Orange, Lavender, Cinnamon, Clove, and Rosemary (P < .05). Similarly, SST-12 mean scores for AAs: 84.2 were also lower than Whites: 89.9 (P < .01). On SST-12, AA less accurately identified the scent of pineapple Based on SST-12 scoring criteria, 60.9% of AA and 30.4% of Whites were classified as hyposmic (P < .05). SNOT-22 Smell scores were equivalent for both groups.

CONCLUSION

On both tests of olfaction, AA performed worse than Whites and a greater proportion of AA were considered hyposmic compared to Whites. This is a discrepancy with self-reported olfaction, which showed no difference between Whites and AA. AA performed significantly worse than their White counterparts on several scents, with possible implications regarding cultural appropriateness of scents used in olfactory testing.

Identifying Olfactory Phenotypes to Differentiate Between COVID-19 Olfactory Dysfunction and Sinonasal Inflammatory Disease

The objective of this study was to identify specific olfactory phenotypes-patterns of olfactory performance-across distinct cohorts with or without olfactory dysfunction (OD). Adult patients underwent testing via a novel olfactory testing methodology in 1 of 4 groups based on health status: sinonasal inflammatory condition (chronic rhinosinusitis or allergic rhinitis), ≥4 weeks of self-reported OD after resolved COVID-19 infection, Alzheimer's disease, and healthy control. Participants' scores for each scent were normalized on a scale of 0 to 1 relative to their worst and best scores. Agglomerative hierarchal cluster analysis was performed on normalized data for the COVID-19 and sinonasal cohorts. Resulting clusters from the penultimate merger revealed a sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 63% for the detection of patients with COVID-19. These results support that there are olfactory phenotypes that may discriminate COVID-19 OD from sinonasal inflammatory disease. These phenotypes will likely become increasingly leveraged in the workup and treatment of patients with OD.