Simple Testing for Little Noses

With increasing evidence that an impaired sense of smell can be an early indicator of everything from sinus and ear infection to schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, development of accurate methods of measuring olfactory function has become a diagnostic priority. While effective clinical tests are in use for adults, such as the OLFACT, most are considered unsuitable for children because they tend to test for a complex range of smells unknown to a child.

Recognizing the need for testing on a more “Fun With Dick and Jane” level, researchers from the University of New South Wales have developed a simplified odor identification test involving 16 common odorants (such as fish, cut grass, and chocolate) and simple visual images geared toward children aged five to seven. Study participants sniffed the odors from individual plastic bottles, then viewed three photographs and picked the one that best represented the smell. 88.1% of five-year-olds, 88.9% of six-year-olds, and 91.1% of seven-year-olds correctly identified the smells. For a five-year-old, say the researchers, normal olfaction would be defined by correct identification of 11 out of the 16 odors, and anosmia would be signaled by correct identification of 4 or less.

While early results are extremely promising, the researchers point out that “as yet no data have been obtained from children with diseases or injuries using the tests which would provide the ranges of identification scores that define hyposmic and anosmic individuals, and the equivalent ranges for those with gustatory dysfunctions. Clearly, this is a priority before the tests can be fully utilized by clinicians when diagnosing chemosensory dysfunctions.”