Poor olfaction has been linked to future development of neurodegenerative diseases . However, the relationship between poor olfaction and the development of late-life depression is poorly understood. Now, a study has explored poor olfaction’s association with incident depression in older adults. The participants (n = 2,125; 71–82 years old), with completed odor identification tasks at baseline, were assessed for cognitive status, depressive symptoms, and inflammatory markers over eight years.
From the assessment, researchers identified three longitudinal depression scores: Stable low, stable moderate, and stable high. Lower olfaction in the participants increased the risk of developing depressive symptoms (hazard ratio = 1.04). In addition, having poorer olfaction increased the risk of falling into stable moderate and stable high groups by 6%, compared to the stable low group.…
