Association of Olfactory and Gustatory Function with Memory among Community-Dwelling Independent Older Adults

Abstract

Background This study examined the association between memory function and reduced olfactory and gustatory function among independent community-dwelling older adults. Methods This cross-sectional study included 127 older adults (65.4% women). We assessed their memory, odor, and taste identification skills. Open essence (OE) test and taste strips (TS) were used to identify hyposmia (OE test ≤6) and hypogeusia (TS test ≤8), respectively. Results Participants with severe hyposmia had significantly poorer memory functions compared to participants without severe hyposmia. After adjusting for covariates, multivariate logistic regression models revealed a significant association between immediate recognition performance and a decreased likelihood of severe hyposmia (odds ratio=0.65; 95% confidence interval 0.47–0.90). We observed no significant association between taste function and memory. Conclusion Memory function may be associated with olfactory impairment in older adults.

Keywords

• olfactory perception
• taste perception
• memory