Small effects of olfactory identification and discrimination on global cognitive and executive performance over 1 year in aging people without a history of age-related cognitive impairment
Language English Country United States Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article
PubMed
38710351
DOI
10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114579
PII: S0031-9384(24)00124-0
Knihovny.cz E-resources
- Keywords
- Cognition, Executive function, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Normal aging, Olfactory abilities, Prague Stroop Test, Smell, Trail Making Test, Verbal fluency,
- MeSH
- Smell physiology MeSH
- Olfactory Perception physiology MeSH
- Discrimination, Psychological * physiology MeSH
- Executive Function * physiology MeSH
- Cognition * physiology MeSH
- Cognitive Dysfunction physiopathology diagnosis MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Neuropsychological Tests MeSH
- Odorants * MeSH
- Aged, 80 and over MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Aging * physiology MeSH
- Mental Status and Dementia Tests MeSH
- Check Tag
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Aged, 80 and over MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
Olfactory and cognitive performance share neural correlates profoundly affected by physiological aging. However, whether odor identification and discrimination scores predict global cognitive status and executive function in healthy older people with intact cognition is unclear. Therefore, in the present study, we set out to elucidate these links in a convenience sample of 204 independently living, cognitively intact healthy Czech adults aged 77.4 ± 8.7 (61-97 years) over two waves of data collection (one-year interval). We used the Czech versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to evaluate global cognition, and the Prague Stroop Test (PST), Trail Making Test (TMT), and several verbal fluency (VF) tests to assess executive function. As a subsidiary aim, we aimed to examine the contribution of olfactory performance towards achieving a MoCA score above vs. below the published cut-off value. We found that the MoCA scores exhibited moderate associations with both odor identification and discrimination. Furthermore, odor identification significantly predicted PST C and C/D scores. Odor discrimination significantly predicted PST C/D, TMT B/A, and standardized composite VF scores. Our findings demonstrate that olfaction, on the one hand, and global cognition and executive function, on the other, are related even in healthy older people.
Department of Zoology Faculty of Science Charles University Viničná 7 128 00 Prague 2 Czech Republic
Prague College of Psychosocial Studies Hekrova 805 149 00 Prague 4 Czech Republic
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