Sense of smell may predict longevity, university study finds

Researchers in the US have found that olfactory dysfunction was better at predicting mortality than a diagnosis of heart failure, cancer or lung disease. Photo: Supplied

Smelly socks have never seemed so life-affirming. According to a study published in scientific journalPLOS One, olfactory dysfunction - a weakening sense of smell - is a strikingly good indicator of imminent death.

No, a bad sense of smell isn't fatal - and it probably isn't the symptom of some insidious illness. But based on this new study, it seems that our noses may act as canaries in the coal mines of our bodies.

When things are amiss, and systems are shutting down, the researchers suggest, our sense of smell might be one of the best outward indicators.

Aromatic? A vintage leather armchair.

Researchers in the US tested a nationally representative sample of 3005 men and women aged 57 to 85 on their ability to identify five smells: rose, leather, orange, fish and peppermint. The study appearsonline in PLOS One.

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They controlled for many factors age, sex, socioeconomic status, smoking, alcohol intake, education, body mass index, race, hypertension, diabetes, heart attack, emphysema, stroke and diet.

Five years later, the researchers found that 430 of the original participants had died.

Thirty-nine per cent of study subjects who failed a simple smelling test died within five years, compared with 19 per cent of those with moderate smell loss and just 10 per cent of those with a healthy sense of smell, PLOS ONE reported.

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Sense of smell may predict longevity, university study finds