A smell test can portend death within 10 years. How it’s possible?

Older people who cannot stand on one leg for 10 seconds are more likely to die in the next 10 years. This is a recent discovery. It turns out, however, that the risk of death can also be determined on the basis of smell. A few years ago it was established that the weaker the perceptible smells, the greater the probability of a senior’s death within a decade. Why? Where does this dependency come from? Here’s what is known.

1. In 2019, researchers at Michigan State University showed a link between poor sense of smell and an increased risk of death
2. It was found that people with poor sense of smell had 46 percent. higher risk of death within 10 years compared to people whose sense of smell was good
3. The sense of smell appeared to be a particularly strong predictor of early death in those who rated their health as good to excellent at baseline.
4. More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.

Assessing the risk of death in the elderly. Ways Scientists Have Discovered

Middle-aged and elderly people who cannot balance for 10 seconds while standing on one leg die almost twice as often (from whatever cause) within 10 years than those who succeed. These conclusions were reached by a team of researchers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Finland and Brazil after 12 years of observation. Interestingly, Every fifth respondent (21%) failed this test. And the higher their age, the poorer the results were.

This is not the only finding related to the risk of death in the elderly. Another way is to test your ability to get up from a sitting position without any help (including holding yourself). Another is the staircase test. According to scientists, the state of our heart can be judged by whether we are able to quickly climb to the third floor without stopping (or fourth, no rest, but at a slower pace). It is also worth mentioning the “handshake test”. It has been established that grip strength is a measure of the condition of skeletal muscles – their weakening is associated with the risk of many diseases and, consequently, the risk of death.

The smell test cannot be skipped. In 2015, scientists found a link between the loss of sense of smell in the elderly and the risk of dying in the next 10 years. These conclusions were confirmed by another study conducted four years later (the main possible causes of death signaled by the waning sense of smell were also identified). The results of the work were published online by the well-known medical journal “Annals of Internal Medicine”.

The rest of the article is available under the video.

Smell test. Risk of death in the next 10 and 13 years

Researchers from Michigan State University (USA) studied 2289 people aged 71 to 82 (the number of men and women was similar). First, each participant completed a short odor identification test. The researchers presented them with 12 typical fragrances and asked them to assign each fragrance to one of four options. Each participant’s sense of smell was then determined to be good, moderate or weak.

The research team followed the participants for the next 13 years. 1211 of them died during the study. After the analyzes, it turned out that people who obtained low results in the smell test had 46 percent. higher risk of death in 10 years and 30 percent. greater in 13 years than those who had a stronger sense of smell.

People who were classified as “moderate” also had a higher risk of death than those with a good sense of smell. Within 10 years, their probability increased by 17%, after 13 years – by 11%. As the researchers emphasize, this result was not statistically significant.

Possible causes of death related to smell. Interesting findings

Given the above, the question is how it is possible that the risk of death can be estimated on the basis of the efficiency of the sense of smell. It turns out that a reduced sense of smell may herald the onset of some neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer’s disease, parkinson’s disease, and dementia in general.

However, researchers showed that the latter two states accounted for only 22 percent. increased risk of death after 10 years. The study also suggests that having a poor sense of smell may be a sign of problems related to heart disease.

It is not the end. A poor sense of smell reduces the enjoyment of eating, and this can result in weight loss. In the elderly, weight loss also increases the risk of death. Researchers concluded that weight loss was only 6 percent. increased risk after 10 years.

Interestingly, the sense of smell appeared to be a particularly strong predictor of early death in those who rated their health as good to excellent at the start of the study. (62% higher all-cause mortality in 10 years and 40% higher in 13 years). According to the researchers, this proves that “an impaired sense of smell is more than an indicator of poor general health”.

Scientists about the limitations of the smell test

The study also has its limitations. Scientists did the smell test only once – at the beginning of the study. It is possible that some participants had a low sense of smell for a short time (e.g. from hay fever or a cold). It could also happen that people with poor sense of smell have always had it like this. Scholars also point out that their work was observational, so there is no way to separate cause and effect.

Nevertheless, scientists suggest that a doctor should be consulted if the sense of smell is impaired. We also note that the study was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic (an olfactory disorder is one of the possible symptoms of the disease).

We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time our guest is Marek Rybiec – businessman, as one of 78 people from all over the world, he completed «4 Deserts» – ultramarathon taking place in extreme places around the world. She talks to Aleksandra Brzozowska about the challenge, mental strength and mindfulness training. Listen!