A new study suggests that people who lose their sense of smell in middle or older age risk dying early.Previous research has shown that there’s a link between Alzheimer’s disease and a diminished sense of smell.However, new study has shown that there’s a probability of early death for individuals who lose sense of smell. A study was conducted by Scientists from Stockholm University. The Scientists conducted a research by following Swedes aged between 40 and 90 for 10 years.The participants were asked to test the 13 different odors.The Scientists found out that the probability of death was linked to how well they scored on the odor test. For every wrong answer, the probability of dying increased over the study period by eight per cent.There’s growing evidence that shows that smell testing gives a valuable window into the health of the brain as it ages. The results of the study show the same thing. Dr. Jonas Olofsson - a senior author of the study which was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society said that the research results were not explained by dementia.Dementia was previously linked to smell loss. Dr. Olofsson emphasized that mortality risk was uniquely predicted by smell loss. Dr. Olofsson said that future research will try to pinpoint the biological processes that can explain the phenomenon. The University of Florida previously conducted a study which revealed that it may be possible to diagnose Alzheimer’s by testing how close a person needs to be to a peanut to smell it.The patients who needed the nut to be at least 6cm closer to the left nostril than the right before they could detect its odor were all diagnosed with Alzheimer’s condition. Harvard University conducted a study which found that people with Alzheimer’s had greater difficulty identifying 10 common smells, including lemon, strawberry, and mint. The researchers believe that the plaques responsible for clogging up brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease may damage the olfactory nerves in the brain first giving a hint of what is to come.SOURCE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/03/22/not-sniffed-losing-sense-smell-predicts-early-death/
