Deterioration of the sense of smell was called a sign of imminent death

Ilya Vedmedenko, Naked Science

Scientists have once again confirmed that the deterioration of the sense of smell is evidence of serious violations of brain functions, which can eventually lead to death.

An earlier study showed that there is a direct relationship between loss of sense of smell and Alzheimer's disease – the most common form of dementia. However, now researchers from Stockholm University have come to even more curious conclusions. As it turned out, the deterioration of the sense of smell is a sign of imminent death even for those middle-aged and older people who have not previously been diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases. The press release Your sense of smell can predict risk of death introduces us to the conclusions of scientists.

Scientists for ten years conducted observations of 1774 Swedes, whose age ranged from 40 to 90 years. At the very beginning of the study, the volunteers underwent tests in which they had to identify 13 different odors. As it turned out, the probability of death was closely related to the ability to correctly distinguish odors. Each incorrect answer increased the chances of the participant of the experiment to die during the study period by 8%.

The authors themselves (Ekström et al., Smell Loss Predicts Mortality Risk Regardless of Dementia Conversion – VM) are in no hurry to draw far-reaching conclusions. They only claim that the sense of smell is a good indicator of how our brain works. In other words, the loss of the ability to distinguish odors can signal deadly problems that a person did not even know about before. Swedish scientists hope that further experiments will help to establish specific biological processes that explain this feature.

How a person perceives odors cannot be measured directly. To answer these kinds of questions, researchers use indirect methods. They determine the assessment of the intensity of smell, analyze the threshold of perception and compare human perception of different smells. It is also known that the threshold of perception and sensitivity are closely interrelated.

It is worth noting that a similar study was previously conducted in the USA. An analysis of more than 3 thousand Americans showed that the loss of the ability to distinguish odors can be evidence of the imminent death of an elderly person. 

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  23.03.2017