Comparison of olfactory acuity in diabetic and non-diabetic patients using Alcohol Sniff Olfactory Test (ASOT) and University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT)

Abstract

Sixty diabetic patients admitted to the orthopaedic wards with peripheral vascular complications and 60 non-diabetic controls matched for age, race, sex and smoking habits were recruited. Three-odour University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) and Alcohol Sniff Olfactory Test ( ASOT) were performed on each patient to determine the olfactory acuity. Each group consisted of 39 (65%) male and 21 (35%) female patients. Their ages ranged between 26-76 years (55.13 ±10). Thirty four (56.7%) patients were non-smokers and 26 (43.3%) were smokers. The olfactory acuity was significantly poorer in diabetic compared with non-diabetic patients as measured both by UPSIT (p=0.005) and ASOT (p=0.011). Amongst the controls, patients aged over 60 years had a poorer sense of smell compared with those below 60 years according to both UPSIT (p=0.013) and ASOT (p=0.045). ASOT showed a significantly poorer olfactory acuity amongst the smokers compared to the non-smokers (p=0.010) and amongst the male compared to the female patients (p=0.023). UPST1, however, showed no significant correlation between olfactory acuity and smoking habits or age. ASOT appeared to have been more sensitive than the 3-odour UPSIT in detecting hyposmia. ASOT is hence a potentially effective tool in olfactory testing and provides a reliable and inexpensive means of screening and monitoring olfactory threshold in routine clinical setting.