Olfaction and Coronary Heart Disease.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Cardiovascular Health
• Sensory Science

Background:

• Olfactory dysfunction is increasingly recognized as a potential indicator of underlying health issues in older adults.
• Limited empirical evidence exists on the association between poor olfaction and incident coronary heart disease (CHD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between olfactory status and the risk of developing incident coronary heart disease (CHD) in an older adult population.
• To quantify the risk of CHD associated with different levels of olfaction.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of secondary data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study cohort.
• Inclusion of 5142 older adults without prior CHD, with olfaction assessed via a 12-item odor identification test.
• Follow-up for incident CHD events using discrete-time subdistribution hazard models, accounting for competing risks.

Main Results:

• Poor olfaction was associated with a higher risk of incident CHD, with adjusted marginal risk ratios ranging from 2.06 at year 2 to 1.08 at year 9.
• The association between poor olfaction and CHD risk attenuated over extended follow-up periods.
• Moderate olfaction showed a weaker but similar time-varying association with CHD risk compared to poor olfaction.

Conclusions:

• Poor olfaction, assessed by a smell identification test, is associated with an elevated risk of incident CHD in older adults.
• The findings suggest that olfactory function may serve as a potential biomarker for cardiovascular risk in aging populations.
• Further research could explore the mechanisms linking olfaction and CHD and the clinical utility of smell tests in risk stratification.