| Association of olfactory and gustatory function with memory among community-dwelling independent older adults |
Hyuma Makizako1 
, Yuki Nakai2, Shoma Akaida3, Yoshiaki Taniguchi4, Takaki Miwa5, Shigeto Morimoto6 |
1Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
2Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Daiichi Institute of Technology, Kagoshima, Japan
3Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
4Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Nursing and Welfare, Kyushu University of Nursing and Social Welfare, Tamana, Kumamoto, Japan
5Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Ishikawa, Japan
6Center for Comprehensive Care on Memory Disorders, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Ishikawa, Japan |
Correspondence:
Hyuma Makizako,
Email: makizako@health.nop.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
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Received: 27 December 2023 • Revised: 4 March 2024 • Accepted: 8 March 2024 |
| Abstract |
Background
This study examined the association between memory function and reduced olfactory and gustatory function among independent community-dwelling older adults.
Methods
This cross-sectional study included 127 older adults (65.4% women). We assessed their memory, odor, and taste identification skills. Open essence (OE) test and taste strips (TS) were used to identify hyposmia (OE test ≤6) and hypogeusia (TS test ≤8), respectively.
Results
Participants with severe hyposmia had significantly poorer memory functions compared to participants without severe hyposmia. After adjusting for covariates, multivariate logistic regression models revealed a significant association between immediate recognition performance and a decreased likelihood of severe hyposmia (odds ratio = 0.65, 95% confidence interval = 0.47—0.90). We observed no significant association between taste function and memory.
Conclusions
Memory function may be associated with olfactory impairment but not with gustatory function in older adults. |
| Key Words:
Odor identification, Taste ability, Memory |
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