Quint C, Temmel A F, Schickinger B, Pabinger S, Ramberger P, Hummel T
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Vienna, Austria.
Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2001 Jan 15;113(1-2):52-7.
About 1% of the population suffer from disorders of the chemosensory system. In the United States at least two million people have problems related to smell and taste. The sense of smell enables the individual to determine the flavour of food and beverages and is most important as a sophisticated warning system. For the present investigation, we collected data on the age pattern and causes of olfactory disorders in eastern Austria.
120 patients with non-conductive olfactory disorders were examined over a 9-month period starting from July 1998 at the outpatient clinic of the Ear Nose and Throat Department of the University of Vienna. Data concerning the underlying population taken from the 1998 population census in Vienna were used for comparison, in order to gain a more representative estimation of the distribution of these disorders. The diagnosis was based on thorough history taking, physical examination, CT scan, and olfactory testing for sensitivity by means of so-called "sniffin' sticks".
The patients' ages ranged from 16 to 86 years (mean, 54.5 years; 74 females, 46 males). Those older than 50 years seem to have a higher risk of developing olfactory disorders. Only 15 of the female patients were pre-menopausal. Olfactory disorders were most frequently caused by viral infections in the upper respiratory tract (n = 51). Fifteen patients reported head trauma as a cause of olfactory loss, and 45 causes were idiopathic. Most of those in whom the olfactory disorder had been in existence for less than 3 months were anosmic (84%), very few were hyposmic (16% of a total of 19 patients). In contrast, 38% (of a total of 29 patients) in whom the disease had been in existence for 3 and 6 months were hyposmic. Parosmia was reported in 16 cases. Most parosmias appeared after viral infection (56%). Eight of the 120 patients reported dysgeusia.
The present study is a first step towards an assessment of olfactory disorders in Austria. We found similar causes of non-conductive olfactory disorders as have been reported in the literature for other countries, namely upper respiratory infection leading to postviral olfactory disorders, and head trauma. With increasing age women seem to suffer more often from chemosensory dysfunction than men, which may be related to hormonal factors.
约1%的人口患有化学感应系统紊乱。在美国，至少有200万人存在与嗅觉和味觉相关的问题。嗅觉使个体能够辨别食物和饮料的味道，并且作为一种精密的预警系统至关重要。在本次调查中，我们收集了奥地利东部嗅觉障碍的年龄模式及病因的数据。
1998年7月起的9个月期间，在维也纳大学耳鼻喉科门诊对120例非传导性嗅觉障碍患者进行了检查。为了更具代表性地估计这些疾病的分布情况，将取自1998年维也纳人口普查的相关人口数据用于比较。诊断基于详尽的病史采集、体格检查、CT扫描以及通过所谓的“嗅棒”进行嗅觉敏感性测试。
患者年龄在16至86岁之间（平均54.5岁；女性74例，男性46例）。50岁以上人群似乎患嗅觉障碍的风险更高。只有15名女性患者处于绝经前。嗅觉障碍最常见的病因是上呼吸道病毒感染（n = 51）。15名患者报告头部外伤为嗅觉丧失的病因，45例病因不明。嗅觉障碍存在时间不足3个月的患者中，大多数为嗅觉缺失（84%），很少有嗅觉减退（19例患者中的16%）。相比之下，病程在3至6个月的患者中，38%（共29例患者）为嗅觉减退。16例报告有嗅觉倒错。大多数嗅觉倒错出现在病毒感染后（56%）。120例患者中有8例报告有味觉障碍。
本研究是评估奥地利嗅觉障碍的第一步。我们发现非传导性嗅觉障碍的病因与其他国家文献报道的相似，即上呼吸道感染导致病毒感染后嗅觉障碍以及头部外伤。随着年龄增长，女性似乎比男性更易患化学感应功能障碍，这可能与激素因素有关。
