Establishment of olfactory diagnosis for the traditional Chinese version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test.

BACKGROUND

This study attempted to establish an olfactory diagnosis for the traditional Chinese version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT-TC).

METHODS

Volunteers were enrolled to receive a phenyl ethyl alcohol (PEA) threshold test. Their olfactory function was divided into normal (threshold ≤ -6), mildly impaired (-6 < threshold ≤ -4), moderately impaired (-4 < threshold ≤ -2), and poor odor detection (threshold > -2). Subjects were also grouped by age: 20 to 29 years; 30 to 39 years; 40 to 49 years; 50 to 59 years; 60 to 69 years; and 70 to 79 years. They then received the UPSIT-TC to examine their smell identification function. The cutoff scores of UPSIT-TC among the different groups of olfactory function were determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve.

RESULTS

A total of 1440 subjects were enrolled. The score of UPSIT-TC significantly decreased in both men and women after the age of 60 years. The cutoff scores were 29.5 between the normal and mildly impaired odor detection groups, 26.5 between the mildly and moderately impaired odor detection groups, and 16.5 between the moderately impaired and poor odor detection groups for males aged 20 to 59 years; the cutoff scores for these detection groups for males aged 60 to 79 years were 23.5. 20.5, and 13.5, respectively, and the cutoff scores for these detection groups for females aged 20 to 59 years were 30.5, 27.5, and 16.5, respectively. However, we did not find adequate cutoff scores for elderly females.

CONCLUSION

This study established an olfactory diagnosis of UPSIT-TC for adult subjects. However, further investigation is needed for elderly subjects.