Olfactory function and age: a sniffin’ sticks extended test study performed in Sardinia

Introduction: Several studies evaluated the influence of cultural components on the Sniffin’ Sticks Identification Test in different countries. The aim of this study was to analyze the olfactory function in a large sample of healthy subjects living in Sardinia, an island known for its historic genetic isolation, in relation to different age ranges to provide new data in healthy Sardinian subjects. Methods: Olfactory perception of 161 participants (108 females and 53 males; age range 19–78 years) was assessed through three different parameters: odor detection threshold, discrimination, and identification by means of the Sniffin’Sticks Extended test (SST). Results: Our results show that young adults were generally normosmic, while in subjects over 55, a statistically significant age-related decrease of all the parameters was observed. Regarding odor identification task, a few, such as leather, apples, lemons, cloves, and pineapples, were frequently incorrectly identified by participants probably due to the similarities between the odors and distractors. Conclusion and Implications: Our data provide a comprehensive evaluation of the three olfactory components in the Sardinian population and confirm a decrease in the odor detection threshold, discrimination and identification as well as in the global TDI score in subjects over 55 years of age. These results may be useful in providing normative values for routine clinical use of the SSET in Sardinian subjects.