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Updated: Jun 19, 2025

A Free-breathing fMRI Method to Study Human Olfactory Function
Published on: July 30, 2017
Olfactory Function as a Potential Predictor of Cognitive Impairment in Men and Women
Carla Masala1, Francesco Loy1, Ilenia Pinna1
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, SP 8 Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato, Italy.
Background:
Different previous studies indicated olfactory function as a predictor of several types of cognitive impairment, in particular related to neurodegenerative disease. However, scanty data are available on the role of odor threshold (OT), odor discrimination (OD), and odor identification (OI) as a predictor of cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential correlations between each factor of the olfactory function versus each specific cognitive domain of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test on healthy subjects in relation to gender and age.
Methods:
Sniffin' Sticks and MoCA tests were used to determine olfactory function and cognitive abilities, respectively.
Results:
In men, significant correlations were found in OT versus language index score and OI versus language and executive index score, while in women, OD and OI were correlated to visuospatial index score.
Conclusions:
Our data suggested that olfactory function (OT, OD, and OI) may be considered a predictor for cognitive impairment in relation to gender and age.
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