How good is your sense of smell? For older adults, having a poor sense of smell may indicate a higher risk of pneumonia.

[2greys]

An acute loss of smell is one of the most common symptoms of COVID-19, but for two decades it has been linked to other maladies among them Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Now, a poor sense of smell may signify a higher risk of pneumonia in older adults, says a team of Michigan State University researchers.

“About a quarter of adults 65 years or older have a poor sense of smell,” said Honglei Chen, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics within Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. “Unlike vision or hearing impairment, this sensory deficit has been largely neglected; more than two-thirds of people with a poor sense of smell do not know they have it.”

In a first-of-its-kind study, Chen and his team found a possible link between poor sense of smell and a higher risk of pneumonia hospitalization. They analyzed 13 years of health data from 2,494 older adults, ages 71-82, from metropolitan areas of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Memphis, Tennessee. This study aimed to examine whether a poor sense of smell in older adults is associated with a higher future risk of developing pneumonia.

msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/...

The Lancet Healthy Longevity. Research Paper:

thelancet.com/journals/lanh...

[sassy59]

Mine is very good but can’t say the same for Pete. Xx

[Tugun]

mmmm. Well I could never be certain if the milk was off by the smell.

[CDPO16]

Hmm, who knew. My mum and her mum had no sense of smell, nor has my sister. Neither mum nor nana developed pneumonia. My husband has lost his sense of smell in recent years and before reading this I told him to ask for a pneumonia vaccine when he has his cardiac review next month. He's never been offered one. As I commented on my recent post, my GP practice tends to be reactive rather than proactive with routine care.

[Ergendl]

Curiously, I have a very good sense of smell, but a poor ability to differentiate more subtle smells correctly.

[Izb1]

I lost my sense of smell a couple of years ago after devloping sinusitis after a really bad cold. I do hope this doesn't mean I will get pneumonia x

[Alberta56]

Oh dear. I can smell some things but not others.