Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience (Feb 2024)
Valid olfactory impairment tests can help identify mild cognitive impairment: an updated meta-analysis
Abstract
BackgroundOlfactory testing is emerging as a potentially effective screening method for identifying mild cognitive impairment in the elderly population.ObjectiveOlfactory impairment is comorbid with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in older adults but is not well-documented in subdomains of either olfactory or subtypes of cognitive impairments in older adults. This meta-analysis was aimed at synthesizing the differentiated relationships with updated studies.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in seven databases from their availability to April 2023. A total of 38 publications were included, including 3,828 MCI patients and 8,160 healthy older adults. Two investigators independently performed the literature review, quality assessment, and data extraction. The meta-analyses were conducted with Stata to estimate the average effects and causes of the heterogeneity.ResultsCompared to normal adults, MCI patients had severe impairments in olfactory function and severe deficits in specific domains of odor identification and discrimination. Olfactory impairment was more severe in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment than in patients with non-amnestic MCI. Diverse test instruments of olfactory function caused large heterogeneity in effect sizes.ConclusionValid olfactory tests can be complementary tools for accurate screening of MCI in older adults.
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