The Epidemiology of Olfactory Disorders

Abstract

Insights into risk factors for olfactory decline are needed, because knowledge about its origin is limited. This impairment has important implications for human health. Several epidemiologic studies of olfaction provide insight into the prevalence of olfactory disorders. Here, we review the major population studies carried out on this topic to date. Our purpose is to characterize knowledge about olfactory disorders from human studies. We also describe the existing methods for measuring the sense of smell in population studies, present recent insights into the epidemiology of smell disorders, and discuss the risk factors identified to date. Synthesis of these data shows that olfactory dysfunction increases as people age and is worse in men. Further study of olfaction is warranted for gaining better information on the etiologies affecting its impairment, research that will have a large public health impact.

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