Losing your sense of smell is associated with an increased risk of death

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-04-08 01:00

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People who suffer damage to or loss of their sense of smell have a higher overall risk of death than people with a normal sense of smell, according to an international study. The team analysed the data from 11 previous studies with a total of 21,601 participants, and say people with olfactory impairment (a reduction, distortion or loss of ability to smell) had a 52 per cent higher risk of dying of any cause than the general population. The researchers say this means impaired ability to smell may be an indicator of general health and biological aging, but it will take more research to understand why.