Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2015
Abstract
Current methods of olfactory sensitivity testing are logistically challenging and therefore infeasible for use in in-home surveys and other field settings. We developed a fast, easy and reliable method of assessing olfactory thresholds, and used it in the first study of olfactory sensitivity in a nationally representative sample of U.S. home-dwelling older adults. We validated our method via computer simulation together with a model estimated from 590 normosmics. Simulated subjects were assigned n-butanol thresholds drawn from the estimated normosmic distribution and based on these and the model, we simulated administration of both the staircase and constant stimuli methods. Our results replicate both the correlation between the two methods and their reliability as previously reported by studies using human subjects. Further simulations evaluated the reliability of different constant stimuli protocols, varying both the range of dilutions and number of stimuli (6–16). Six appropriately chosen dilutions were sufficient for good reliability (0.67) in normosmic subjects. Finally, we applied our method to design a 5-minute, in-home assessment of older adults (National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, or NSHAP), which had comparable reliability (0.56), despite many subjects having estimated thresholds above the strongest dilution. Thus, testing with a fast, 6-item constant stimuli protocol is informative, and permits olfactory testing in previously inaccessible research settings.
Version
The article available for download here is the publisher version. Locate the version of record using the DOI below
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118589
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publication Title
PLOS One
Volume Number
10
Issue Number
3
First Page
1
Last Page
17
Recommended Citation
Kern, D. W., Schumm, L. P., Wroblewski, K. E., Pinto, J. M., Hummel, T., & McClintock, M. K. (2015). Olfactory thresholds of the US population of home-dwelling older adults: development and validation of a short, reliable measure. PloS One, 10(3). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118589. Retrieved from http://neiudc.neiu.edu/psyc-pub/13.