Odors determition among the population of the regions of the Russian Federation: Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction. Currently, the main way to assess olfactory disorders is olfactory tests. A necessary condition for adequate diagnosis is that the odors used in tests correspond to the sociocultural characteristics of the population; the identified flavors must be well recognizable. The use of unadapted tests distorts the results and leads to a false diagnosis of the pathology in a person with a normal sense of smell. The research for identification of the most known odors is an important stage in validation of the existing tests and in the development of new ones.Aim. Determination odors in various regions of the Russian Federation.Materials and methods: 3000 people from 8 federal districts of the Russian Federation took part in the study. This study was conducted using a questionnaire based on a Likert scale. The subject was required to assess his level of familiarity with each odor from the proposed list, assigning it a score from 1 to 5. In total, the questionnaire listed 100 names, including 16 names of odors, the standard set of the 3rd stage (assessment of identification ability) Sniffin’ Sticks Test, 40 names of odorants of the University of Pennsylvania Psychophysical Test (UPSIT) and 44 odors found in the everyday life of the population of our country.Results. In the first 25 positions of the most recognizable smells, in descending order, there are: 1) coffee; 2) orange; 3) garlic; bleach; 5) mint; 6) tobacco smoke; 7) gasoline; 8) tangerine; 9) lemon; 10) smoke from a fire; 11) onion; 12) strawberry; 13) apple; 14) alcohol; 15) fish; 16) mown grass; 17) chocolate; 18) acetone; 19) banana; 20) hot bread; 21) rose; 22) lilac; 23) melon; 24) watermelon; 25) cucumber. Among the 16 odors of the 3rd stage of identification of the standard set “Sniffin’ Sticks Test” – 43.75% are included in the first 16 positions of recognizable odors of the Russian rating, and among the 40 odors of the UPSIT olfactory test – 52.5%.Conclusions: This study showed which odors are well recognized by the Russian population and confirmed that cultural adaptation as a necessary procedure before routine use of olfactory tests.