People with a poor sense of smell more likely to develop dementia
Decline was significantly associated with transition to dementia
PEOPLE with a poor sense of smell are more prone to dementia, medics warn.
The link emerged after a four-year study of 397 elderly volunteers who took “scratch and sniff” tests.
Fifty went on to get dementia and typically did worse in the tests as their sense of smell failed.
The deterioration in memory accompanied thinning of a part of the brain that processes information from the senses.
Protein analysis of 84 other volunteers found those with a worsening sense of smell were three times more likely to have memory problems.
The US research was conducted by New York’s Columbia University.
Dr Doug Brown, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “We need larger studies to test how reliably sense of smell can be used.”
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