Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Jikei University Kashiwa Hospital, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.
Rhinology. 2021 Dec 1;59(6):511-516. doi: 10.4193/Rhin21.187.
Olfaction plays an important role in our daily and social lives, both as adults and as children. This study assessed whether the ability to identify odours increases with age, as well as the ability in various age groups and the factors involved.
The survey was performed in 2017 on 697 Japanese children (366 girls and 331 boys) aged 6â€"18 years who lived in Tsunan, Niigata Prefecture, Japan by using the 'Open Essence', a card-type odour identification test. We collected information regarding age, sex, and physical characteristic. We also inquired whether participants had siblings or if members of the family smoked, and whether they had conversations about odour at home. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the factors affecting odour identification abilities.
The results showed that the odour identification abilities of children increase with age, and children who have daily conversations about odours at home have better odour identification abilities.
Odour identification ability increases with age. In addition, our findings suggest that conversation may positively affect odour identification. Hence, it is important for children to be exposed to an environment where they develop an interest in smells for better growth of their olfactory identification ability.
嗅觉在我们的日常生活和社交生活中都起着重要的作用，无论是成人还是儿童。本研究评估了识别气味的能力是否随年龄增长而增强，以及在各个年龄组中的能力以及涉及的因素。
该调查于 2017 年在日本新潟县津南町使用“Open Essence”（一种卡片式气味识别测试）对 697 名年龄在 6 至 18 岁的日本儿童（366 名女孩和 331 名男孩）进行。我们收集了有关年龄、性别和身体特征的信息。我们还询问了参与者是否有兄弟姐妹，或者家庭成员是否吸烟，以及他们是否在家里谈论过气味。进行了统计分析，以评估影响气味识别能力的因素。
结果表明，儿童的气味识别能力随年龄增长而增强，并且在家中经常谈论气味的儿童具有更好的气味识别能力。
气味识别能力随年龄增长而增强。此外，我们的发现表明，对话可能会对气味识别产生积极影响。因此，让孩子接触到一个培养他们对气味的兴趣的环境对于更好地发展他们的嗅觉识别能力很重要。
