(BQ) Part 2 book “Smell and taste disorders” has contents: Non-neurodegenerative disorders of olfaction, non-neurodegenerative disorders of gustation, neurodegenerative chemosensory disorders, assessment, treatment, and medicolegal aspects of chemosensory disorders. | Chapter 5 Non-neurodegenerative Disorders of Olfaction Chemosensory disorders are common in the general population. Olfactory impairment, which is more prevalent than taste dysfunction, affects 1–2% of people below the age of 65 years and more than 50% in those above this age (Doty et al., 1984; Hoffman et al., 1998; Murphy et al., 2002). Of 750 consecutive patients presenting to the University of Pennsylvania Smell and Taste Center with chemosensory complaints, 68% reported decreased quality of life, 46% changes in appetite or body weight, and 56% adverse influences on daily living or psychological well-being (Deems et al., 1991). In another study of 445 such patients, at least one significant hazardous event (., food poisoning or failure to detect fire or leaking natural gas) was reported by of those with anosmia (total loss of smell ability), of those with severe hyposmia (lowered smell function), of those with moderate hyposmia, of those with mild hyposmia, and of those with normal olfactory function. It is particularly noteworthy that a number of longitudinal studies have found mortality risk to be much higher in older non-demented persons with smell identification deficits than in those with a normal sense of smell (Wilson et al., 2010; Gopinath et al., 2012; Pinto et al., 2014; Devanand et al., 2015). In the most definitive of these studies, the increased risk of death progressively increased as olfactory dysfunction increased over a four-year period (Devanand et al., 2015). Participants with the lowest UPSIT scores had a 45% mortality rate over this time, as compared to an 18% mortality rate in those with the highest UPSIT scores. A recurrent confusion in the minds of patients and many of their medical advisors is the fact that individuals with smell impairment complain regularly of loss of taste. This can lead to unnecessary evaluations such as extensive gastrointestinal investigations, and reflects a lack of understanding of the
