Global study of variability in olfactory sensitivity

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Anna Oleszkiewicz - , Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (Author)
  • Rafieh Alizadeh - , Iran University of Medical Sciences (Author)
  • Aytug Altundag - , Acibadem Taksim Hospital (Author)
  • Ben Chen - , Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (Author)
  • Alessandra Corrai - , United States Department of Education (Author)
  • Rachele Fanari - , United States Department of Education (Author)
  • Mohammad Farhadi - , Iran University of Medical Sciences (Author)
  • Neelima Gupta - , IRCCS Ospedale Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza - San Giovanni Rotondo (FG) (Author)
  • Rebecca Habel - , Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (Author)
  • Robyn Hudson - , Universidad Autonoma de la Ciudad de Mexico (Author)
  • Jessica L Hughes - , Canadian Food Inspection Agency (Author)
  • Akshita Joshi - , Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (Author)
  • Seyed Kamran Kamrava - , Iran University of Medical Sciences (Author)
  • Curtis Luckett - (Author)
  • Mehmet K Mahmut - , Canadian Food Inspection Agency (Author)
  • Carla Masala - , University of Cagliari (Author)
  • Eri Mori - , IRCCS Ospedale Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza - San Giovanni Rotondo (FG) (Author)
  • Robert Pellegrino - , University of Tennessee System (Author)
  • Raffaella Piras - , United States Department of Education (Author)
  • Katarzyna Resler - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Alejandro Rivas-Castro - , Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Author)
  • Supreet Saluja - , Macquarie University (Author)
  • Sanskriti Sharma - , Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) (Author)
  • Hajime Shimmura - , IRCCS Ospedale Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza - San Giovanni Rotondo (FG) (Author)
  • Graciela M Soler - , IRCCS Ospedale Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza - San Giovanni Rotondo (FG) (Author)
  • Michał Mikołaj Stefańczyk - , CAS - Institute of Psychology (Author)
  • Zhifu Sun - (Author)
  • Divesh Thaploo - , Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (Author)
  • Yongxiang Wei - , University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Xiaoguang Yan - , Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Thomas Hummel - , Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (Author)

Abstract

Variability in human olfactory sensitivity has been attributed to individual-level factors such as genetics, age, sex, medical history of infections and trauma, neurogenerative diseases, and emotional disorders. Scarce evidence exists on the cross-cultural variation in olfactory sensitivity. Hence, we performed 2 studies to estimate the variability in olfactory threshold as a function of location and environment. Study 1 involved 11 laboratories from 4 continents (N = 802). In each location, in a designated laboratory, approximately 80 subjects underwent olfactory sensitivity testing with custom-made tests with eucalyptol and phenylethanol (PEA) odors. Tests were based on the Threshold subtest of the Sniffin' Sticks battery. In Study 2, we compared olfactory sensitivity and suprathreshold perception of PEA and eucalyptol in 2 Chinese (N = 160) and 2 Indian (N = 92) populations-one based in their native country and the other in Germany. Both studies present large-scale evidence that olfactory sensitivity varies as a function of geographical location and suggest that environmental factors play an important role in shaping olfactory sensitivity and suprathreshold olfactory perception. We delineate further steps necessary to identify specific factors underlying uncovered variability and the relationship between olfactory sensitivity and suprathreshold odor perception. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)394-406
Number of pages13
JournalBehavioral Neuroscience
Volume134
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2020
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85091959682
ORCID /0000-0001-9713-0183/work/146645614

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Adolescent, Adult, Aged, China, Eucalyptol/analysis, Female, Germany, Humans, India, Internationality, Male, Middle Aged, Odorants/analysis, Olfactory Perception/physiology, Phenylethyl Alcohol/analysis, Sensory Thresholds/physiology, Smell/physiology, Young Adult