Kanji Nohara, Department of Oral-facial Disorders, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, 1-8 Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan, Email:
J Nutr Health Aging. 2020;24(4):398-403. doi: 10.1007/s12603-020-1334-3.
To investigate olfactory function in elderly subjects requiring nursing care to clarify its association with appetite and nutritional status.
Facility for the elderly requiring nursing care.
The subjects were 158 elderly people requiring nursing care and 37 elderly people not requiring nursing care.
Experiment I: Olfactory function and factors (cognitive function, appetite, and nutritional status) that may be associated with it were compared between the elderly subjects requiring nursing care and those not requiring nursing care using covariance analysis in consideration of age. For evaluation, the OSIT-J was used for olfactory function, the HDS-R for cognitive function, the CNAQ for appetite, and BMI for nutritional status. Experiment II: The subjects were the same elderly subjects requiring nursing care in Experiment I, and food intake was surveyed in addition to the OSIT-J, HDS-R, CNAQ, and BMI. A univariate linear regression analysis was performed with OSIT-J as the response variable, and age, HDS-R, CNAQ, BMI, and food intake as the explanatory variables.
Experiment I: On covariance analysis, the OSIT-J score was significantly lower for the elderly subjects requiring nursing care than for those not requiring nursing care (p<0.01). The mean score was 8 or lower in both groups, demonstrating lower olfactory function in both groups. Regarding factors that may be associated with olfactory function, a significant difference was noted in the HDS-R (p<0.01), confirming significantly lower cognitive function in the elderly subjects requiring nursing care. No significant difference was noted in the CNAQ or BMI. Experiment II: On a univariate linear regression analysis, an association with the OSIT-J was noted for age and HDS-R. Age was inversely correlated and the HDS-R was positively correlated. Factors associated with lower olfactory function in the elderly subjects requiring nursing were age and cognitive function, whereas appetite, nutritional status, and food intake were not associated.
Olfactory function in elderly subjects requiring nursing care was poorer than that in those not requiring nursing care, suggesting that aging and cognitive decline are associated with lower olfactory function. In addition, no association of lower olfactory function with appetite, nutritional status, or food intake was noted in the elderly subjects requiring nursing care.
调查需要护理的老年人的嗅觉功能，阐明其与食欲和营养状况的关系。
需要护理的老年人设施。
受试者为 158 名需要护理的老年人和 37 名不需要护理的老年人。
实验 I：考虑到年龄，使用协方差分析比较需要护理的老年人和不需要护理的老年人的嗅觉功能以及可能与之相关的因素（认知功能、食欲和营养状况）。对于评估，使用 OSIT-J 进行嗅觉功能测试，使用 HDS-R 进行认知功能测试，使用 CNAQ 进行食欲测试，使用 BMI 进行营养状况测试。实验 II：受试者为实验 I 中需要护理的相同老年人，除了 OSIT-J、HDS-R、CNAQ 和 BMI 之外，还调查了食物摄入量。使用 OSIT-J 作为响应变量，进行单变量线性回归分析，将年龄、HDS-R、CNAQ、BMI 和食物摄入量作为解释变量。
实验 I：在协方差分析中，需要护理的老年人的 OSIT-J 评分明显低于不需要护理的老年人（p<0.01）。两组的平均评分为 8 或更低，表明两组的嗅觉功能均较低。关于可能与嗅觉功能相关的因素，HDS-R 存在显著差异（p<0.01），证实需要护理的老年人的认知功能明显较低。CNAQ 或 BMI 没有差异。实验 II：在单变量线性回归分析中，OSIT-J 与年龄和 HDS-R 相关。年龄呈负相关，HDS-R 呈正相关。与需要护理的老年人嗅觉功能较低相关的因素是年龄和认知功能，而食欲、营养状况和食物摄入量与嗅觉功能较低无关。
需要护理的老年人的嗅觉功能比不需要护理的老年人差，这表明衰老和认知能力下降与嗅觉功能下降有关。此外，在需要护理的老年人中，嗅觉功能较低与食欲、营养状况或食物摄入量无关。
