Recent studies suggest that the sense of smell can serve as a crucial indicator of brain health, with implications for identifying injuries or illnesses.
One such study, conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense, found that a diminished sense of smell correlated with frontal lobe damage in soldiers who sustained battle-related injuries. The research highlighted that individuals exhibiting a weakened sense of smell were more likely to show signs of acute structural neuropathology from trauma, indicating the potential of olfactometry as a marker for detecting brain injuries.
Further reinforcing this link between smell and brain function, Dr. Davangere Devanand of Columbia University, New York, conducted a study involving older adults. The findings, released in June 2015, revealed that participants with a reduced ability to identify certain odors faced an elevated risk of mortality over a four-year follow-up period. The study, conducted by Columbia’s Department of Psychiatry and New York State Psychiatric Institute, demonstrated a stark contrast in mortality rates between individuals with low odor identification scores (45%) and those with high scores (18%). Dr. Devanand emphasized that the risk of death increased progressively with poorer performance in smell identification tests, particularly among those with the most impaired olfactory abilities.