Correlation Between Cognitive Performances And Olfactory Function In Patients With MildCognitive Impairment

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transient condition between cognitive health and dementia. The alterations in olfactory function may signal declines in cognitive functions associated with dementia. This study aims to analyze the correlation between olfactory function and five cognitive domains: attention, memory, language, visuospatial function, and frontal/executive function. METHODS: This study subjects were elderly people with MCI who use in an elderly welfare facility in city of D. A total of 68 subjects (16 men and 52 women) with mean age 79.22 ± 5.62 years were recruited. The Korean version of the Sniffin’ stick test (KVSS-II) which is a modified type of Sniffin’ stick recently developed for Koreans, was used for olfactory function testing in all participants. In the cognitive examination, the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery-Second Edition (SNSB-II) was also performed. The SNSB-II is a test battery widely used for the clinical diagnosis of dementia in Korea. RESULTS: There was no significant correlation between olfactory function and attention and visuospatial function cognitive domain. KVSS-II discrimination score was a significant correlation with language cognitive domain (r=0.344, p=0.004) and frontal/executive function cognitive domain (r=0.388, p=0.001). KVSS-II Identification score was a significant correlation with memory cognitive domain (r=0.337, p=0.005) and frontal/executive function cognitive domain (r=0.304, p=0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Peason’s correlations analysis results revealed that was statistically significant results in three cognitive domains. These results suggest that a simple test of odor identification and discrimination is valuable in evaluating individuals at cognitive performances.