日前美国科学家发现,可以通过测试嗅觉预测人的寿命。
美国芝加哥市鲁斯大学医疗中心的科研人员发现,能够分辨气味种类越多的人,其寿命可能就越长。研究人员招募了1000多名年龄在53岁到100岁的志愿者,定期用12种相似气味对他们进行测试,包括烟草、柠檬、黑胡椒、巧克力以及肉桂等物的气味。在4年的跟踪研究中,有321人死亡,占了所有志愿者的27.6%。研究人员惊讶地发现,那些只能分辨出12种气味中的6种的人,比能够分辨出11种气味的人死亡率高36%。
领导此项研究的罗伯特·威尔森说:“结果显示,人到老年时嗅觉能够分辨相似气味的多少,与他们剩余寿命的长短有着联系。我此前的研究也显示,嗅觉退化可能是某些神经退化疾病,比如老年痴呆症的先兆。” (生物谷Bioon.com)
生物谷推荐原文出处:
Chem. Senses (2011) 36 (1): 63-67. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjq098
Odor Identification and Mortality in Old Age
Robert S. Wilson1,2,3, Lei Yu1,2 and David A. Bennett1,2
Abstract
The association of olfactory dysfunction with mortality was examined in 1162 older persons without dementia or Parkinson's disease. They completed a standard 12-item test of odor identification and then were followed for a mean of 4.2 years (standard deviation [SD] = 2.6, range: 0–9) during which 321 individuals died (27.6%). The relation of olfactory score to risk of death was assessed in a series of proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, education, and other covariates. Olfactory scores ranged from 0 to 12 correct (mean = 9.0, SD = 2.2). In an initial analysis, risk of death decreased by about 6% for each additional odor correctly identified (hazard ratio = 0.94; 95% confidence interval: 0.90, 0.98). Thus, mortality risk was about 36% higher with a low score (6, 10th percentile) compared with a high score (11, 90th percentile). The association persisted in subsequent analyses that controlled for naming ability, disability, cerebrovascular disease, characteristic patterns of leisure activity, depressive symptoms, and apolipoprotein E genotype. The results indicate that difficulty identifying familiar odors in old age is associated with increased risk of death.