Department of Psychiatry, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
PLoS One. 2021 Jul 12;16(7):e0254357. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254357. eCollection 2021.
Olfactory impairment is associated with dementia and is a potential early biomarker of cognitive decline. We developed a novel olfactory threshold test called Sniff Bubble using rose odor-containing beads made with 2-phenylethyl alcohol. We aimed to define cut-off scores for this tool to help identify cognitive decline among elderly people. In total, 162 elderly people (mean age ± SD: 73.04 ± 8.73 years) were administered olfactory threshold and neurocognitive tests. For analyses, we divided the participants into two groups based on cognitive functioning, namely cognitive decline (n = 44) and normal cognition (n = 118) groups. The Sniff Bubble and YSK olfactory function test for olfactory threshold and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders-Clinician Version and Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease assessment packet for neurocognitive functioning were used. We used K-means cluster analyses and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses to identify the most appropriate cut-off value. We established a positive correlation between the Sniff Bubble and neurocognitive function test scores (r = 0.431, p < 0.001). We defined the cut-off score, using the ROC curve analyses for Sniff Bubble scores, at 3 and higher with an area under the curve of 0.759 (p < 0.001). The Sniff Bubble test can adequately detect cognitive decline in elderly people and may be used clinically as the first step in the screening process.
嗅觉障碍与痴呆有关，是认知能力下降的潜在早期生物标志物。我们开发了一种名为“Sniff Bubble”的新型嗅觉阈值测试，该测试使用含有 2-苯乙醇的玫瑰味珠来测试嗅觉。我们旨在定义该工具的截断分数，以帮助识别老年人的认知能力下降。共有 162 名老年人（平均年龄±标准差：73.04±8.73 岁）接受了嗅觉阈值和神经认知测试。为了进行分析，我们根据认知功能将参与者分为两组，即认知衰退组（n=44）和正常认知组（n=118）。使用 Sniff Bubble 和 YSK 嗅觉阈值测试、DSM-5 障碍临床定式访谈和 Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease 评估包的韩国版对嗅觉和神经认知功能进行评估。我们使用 K-均值聚类分析和接收器操作特征（ROC）分析来确定最合适的截断值。我们发现 Sniff Bubble 与神经认知功能测试评分之间存在正相关（r=0.431，p<0.001）。我们通过 ROC 曲线分析确定了 Sniff Bubble 评分的截断值，即 3 分及以上，曲线下面积为 0.759（p<0.001）。Sniff Bubble 测试可以充分检测老年人的认知能力下降，并且可以在临床上用作筛查过程的第一步。
